TRANSPORT

Convention Reform

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress on the reform of the Warsaw Convention, with particular reference to (a) the cap on compensation awards, (b) compensation for psychiatric injury and (c) ratification of the Montreal Convention.

David Jamieson: The 1999 Montreal Convention is intended to consolidate, update and eventually replace all previous international agreements on air carrier liability, including the 1929 Warsaw Convention. The Warsaw Convention will be subject to no further amendment or reform. The Montreal Convention removes liability limits in relation to claims for death and injury to passengers, but retains limits in relation to delay and baggage claims. The Montreal Convention does not acknowledge psychiatric injury as a separate head of claims. The UK is ready to ratify the Montreal Convention but since it contains issues that are subject to Community competence we are waiting until all 15 members of the EU are in a position simultaneously to deposit their instruments of ratification.

Highway Winter Maintenance

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has (a) to classify rock salt and its flow agent ferrocyanide as hazardous substances and (b) to restrict their use in highway winter maintenance operations.

David Jamieson: Sodium hexacyanoferrate(II), rather than ferrocyanide, is the most common anti-caking (or "flow") agent used by the salt industry with rock salt for highway winter maintenance operations.
	There are no plans to classify rock salt and its anti-caking agent as hazardous substances nor are there plans to further restrict their use in highway winter maintenance operations.

Maritime Security

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assistance has been given to the merchant shipping industry to increase maritime security in non-UK waters since 11 September 2001; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: My Department regularly issues advice to the United Kingdom merchant shipping industry. This includes information about the prevailing threat around the world, and appropriate security responses and enhancements. The advice is either issued directly or through representative trade associations.
	Detailed security guidance is issued to UK flagged cruise ships operating from overseas ports. This guidance is kept under review and has been enhanced since the events of September 2001. Measures contained in the guidance are appropriate to the level of threat, and implementation is monitored by my officials during regular overseas inspection visits.
	In November 2002 my Department published a Marine Guidance Note containing security advice on measures to counter attacks against merchant shipping. This was issued to every UK seafarer.

Railways

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from train operating companies about the future of the railway network.

David Jamieson: Ministers in my Department receive representations from train operating companies from time-to-time on a range of issues and meet with them on a regular basis.

Rapid Transit System (Cambridge-Huntingdon)

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an announcement about the viability of the rapid transit system between Cambridge and Huntingdon.

David Jamieson: Work on the appraisal of this scheme is progressing well, but I cannot yet say when my right hon. Friend will be in a position to make an announcement.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agency Workers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many agency workers have been employed by the Department in each of the last two years; and at what cost to public funds.

Alun Michael: The cost to public funds of employing agency staff for each of the last two years is as follows (excluding Defra Agencies and for foot and mouth disease):
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2001–02 5,387,536 
			 2002–03 6,277,965 
		
	
	The number of agency workers employed is not held centrally by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Avian Influenza

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on preparedness for an outbreak of Avian Influenza in the UK.

Elliot Morley: In the light of the outbreak of Avian Influenza in the Netherlands we have checked all elements of the Department's preparedness and are keeping the position under review in consultation with the industry. Veterinary field instructions were reviewed and amended in early March and are being further reviewed to reflect lessons learned in the Netherlands. Other elements of emergency preparedness including laboratory capacity, slaughter methods and disposal options have all been checked and updated as necessary. The supporting structures, systems and arrangements set out in the FMD Contingency Plan are ready to be employed. In the light of information on the Dutch outbreak and our experience with FMD in 2001, we would impose national movement controls immediately, unless there was very good evidence not to do so, in order to assess the source and contain any further spread of disease. We are liaising with the industry about arrangements allowing licensed movements.
	We will be checking our emergency preparedness by holding an Avian influenza exercise later this month.

Countryside Agency

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her forecast funding of the Countryside Agency is for (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Countryside Agency has been allocated £98 million grant in aid for 2003–04 compared with £92 million in 2002–03. Decisions on future years have not been made but we have indicated to the Agency that it may provisionally plan on receiving a similar amount in 2004–05.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the implications for property owners faced by environment charges for access resulting from changes in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Alun Michael: Regulations under section 68 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, relating to vehicular access over common and other land, prescribe the compensation sums that property owners have to pay to landowners in connection with a statutory easement under the regulations. The compensation is 0.25 per cent.–2 per cent. of the value of the property served by the vehicular access, depending on its age. In addition, property owners may face other costs, such as getting their property valued.
	These costs will not arise unless the property owner chooses to make an application under the regulations. They compare very favourably with the sums that property owners might have to pay if they were to negotiate the grant of an easement with the landowner outside the terms of section 68.

Departmental Expenditure

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her departmental expenditure was for each year since 1997; and what administration costs limits were set for 2003–04.

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to Chapter 5 of the 2003 Departmental Report. Defra did not come into existence until June 2001, but information about Defra's predecessor departments can be found in their annual Departmental Reports for 2001 and earlier years, copies of which are available in the Library of the House of Commons.

Eco-schools

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much financial grant her Department has given to EnCams for its Eco Schools programme in each year since 1997.

Alun Michael: Defra does not provide EnCams Ltd. with a specific grant for its Eco Schools programme, which is funded by SITA Environmental Trust. Annual grant to EnCams from Defra incorporates a funding element for management and administration costs. This enables EnCams to deliver on a wider range of campaigns and programmes, including its Eco Schools programme. Management and administration costs include salaries and employers' costs for EnCams staff, conference and workshop costs, and office costs.

Eco-schools

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many jobs are dependent on the Eco Schools programme in England.

Alun Michael: Defra funds the environmental charity EnCams, which is the parent organisation of the Tidy Britain Group, for work on litter, waste and local community initiatives in England. The Eco Schools initiative is a European Environmental award scheme funded by SITA Environmental Trust. The work of EnCams in this field has been welcomed by Ministers at Defra, as well as DfES but is in addition to the work that we fund. I understand that the work is currently undertaken by a central team but that EnCams may devolve the work to its regional teams in future.

Eco-schools

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements her Department makes to distribute information on sustainable development to Eco Schools in England.

Alun Michael: Officials from the Department and DfES are regularly in contact with EnCams Ltd, the environmental charity that runs the Eco Schools programme in England, about a range of sustainable development information that may be suitable for specific programmes. Any decision about what information to distribute to schools that participate in the Eco Schools programme is a matter for EnCams.

Foot and Mouth

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to implement a veterinary disease strategy for foot and mouth disease.

Elliot Morley: The veterinary disease control strategy for foot and mouth disease is summarised in the Foot and Mouth Disease Contingency Plan which was laid before Parliament on 28 March 2003.

GM Crops

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what clinical trials have been conducted into the effects on the human body of the ingestion of GM foods in the (a) long and (b) short term.

Hazel Blears: I have been asked to reply.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is unaware of any clinical trials conducted into the effects on the human body of the ingestion of genetically modified (GM) Foods. However, a number of research projects have been funded by the FSA on the safety of GM foods, which have included a project which has examined the survival of DNA in the digestive tract.
	Details of the work funded by the FSA are described in its annual research report, which is available in the Library.

National Parks Authority

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account she takes of sport and recreational interests when appointing members of the National Parks Authority.

Alun Michael: As set out in the Environment Act 1995, the purposes of National Parks are to conserve and enhance their natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage; and to promote the public understanding and enjoyment of their special qualities. In pursuing these purposes National Park Authorities have a duty to seek to foster the economic and social well being of communities within the National Park.
	Candidates for membership of a National Park Authority are welcomed from all backgrounds. We expect those appointed by the Secretary of State to represent the national interest, including the views of people not living in or near the Parks; to work to achieve both the Parks' purposes; we encourage them bring experience of wider issues, such as an interest in outdoor recreation or sport or business conservation. In making appointments, we seek to ensure members collectively have a range of interests which cover all the Authority's activities.

TREASURY

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the question from the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South tabled for answer on 12 May 2003, ref 112668.

John Healey: The question concerned was transferred to the Treasury by the Cabinet Office earlier this week. I hope to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Aggregates Levy

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the funds raised by the Aggregates Levy has been paid (a) directly by the Government and (b) via another party in respect of work carried out for the Government.

John Healey: The aggregates levy is payable by anyone who commercially exploits virgin aggregate. Whether the cost is passed on to the end user is a commercial decision for these suppliers; therefore, it is not possible to establish the proportion of revenue raised by the levy which is paid by, or on behalf of, Government.

Banknotes

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what measures have been incorporated into (a) £5, (b) £10, (c) £20 and (d) £50 notes to enable blind and partially sighted people easily to distinguish between them;
	(2)  what representations he has received on further mechanisms that would enable blind and partially sighted people more easily to distinguish between banknotes;
	(3)  what plans his Department has to introduce additional mechanisms to enable blind and partially sighted people easily to distinguish between banknotes;
	(4)  what consultation has been undertaken with groups representing blind and partially sighted people on the effectiveness of measures to enable them to distinguish between banknotes.

John Healey: The production of most UK banknotes is the responsibility of the Bank of England. The Bank is very conscious of the problems experienced by visually impaired people in identifying banknotes. Each denomination has a unique colour theme and there is a symbol to aid the partially sighted incorporated into the front design. The new design £5, £10 and £20 notes have large and clear denomination numbers. In addition, differentials in size allow some visually impaired people to distinguish between the denominations.
	On occasions the Treasury and the Bank receive suggestions from members of the public with a view to enabling visually impaired people to distinguish banknotes more readily. Suggestions are considered and where appropriate incorporated into the finished note. An example of this is the use of larger denomination figures on the new style £5, £10 and £20 notes. The incorporation of Braille into the design of the notes has also been suggested. However, it was felt that this (and any other kind of raised markings) would wear rapidly once the notes were in active circulation, and so would cease to be reliable.
	There are no plans to make any further changes to the current series of banknotes to assist visually impaired people in distinguishing between the different denominations.
	The Bank of England regularly consults a number of organisations, including the Royal National Institute for the Blind, during the design phase of all new banknotes.
	When changes are made to banknotes, information is available from the Bank of England in Braille and large print. I also understand that visually impaired people can obtain banknote guides from commercial banks and the RNIB.

Children at Risk

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to publish the Children at Risk Green Paper.

Paul Boateng: The Government are currently finalising the proposals to be detailed in the Children's Green Paper and will be publishing it shortly.

Correspondence

Martin Linton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 6 March 2003, from the hon. Member for Battersea, on behalf of Jackie von Calster of Battersea, London, regarding inheritance tax.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers have no record of having received this correspondence. Officials have requested a copy from the hon. Member's office and will deal with it as soon as it is to hand.

Financial Advisers

Iris Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many independent financial advisers are working across the UK; how many have been unable to source professional indemnity insurance; and what action has been taken by the Financial Services Agency to address the situation within the professional indemnity insurance market.

Paul Boateng: The Financial Services Authority (the FSA) advise that there are approximately 4,000 directly authorised firms of independent financial advisers (IFAs) in the UK. Between September 2002 and April 2003 just under 2,800 of these were due to renew their professional indemnity (PI) cover, over 1,950 have done so or been granted a waiver of the requirement to have PI.
	The FSA is in discussion with the other firms, and works with them to find a solution in light of their individual circumstances.
	IFAs may be reluctant to confirm that they have PI cover until they have a policy document, even if they have agreed terms. This means that the reported position can appear less positive than it is.
	Last month the FSA authorised a new insurance company that intends to provide cover for IFAs. The FSA also published a consultation paper on its future PI policy in February 2003 and is currently analysing the responses. The FSA is in on-going discussions with IFAs, PI insurers, PI brokers and other interested parties about the situation in the PI market.

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 429W, what options the UK Government are exploring to address the issue of creditor litigation and improve the legal defence offered to heavily indebted countries.

John Healey: As stated in my answer of 4 June 2003, the UK believes that an adequate HIPC legal defence is essential in reaching fair and equitable settlements with some creditors. The UK is exploring options to address the issue of creditor litigation with other donors and the staffs of the World bank and IMF.
	At the recent Evian Summit, the G8 agreed to ask the IMF and World bank to intensify their efforts to secure the participation of all creditors, and to explore further options to deal with the issues of creditor litigation. The Chair's summary and further information on summit outcomes can be found at: http://www.g8.fr.Evian

Higher Rate Taxpayers

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 194W, whether he has figures for (a) Brent and (b) Brent, North.

Dawn Primarolo: Reliable estimates are not available by parliamentary constituency.

Personal Debt

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average level of personal debt was in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Jenkins, dated 13 June 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on personal debt. I am replying in his absence. (118685).
	The figures you requested are given below. These averages have been derived by dividing household sector financial liabilities by the number of adults (aged 16 and over).
	The financial liabilities data used in the calculation include liabilities of non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) in addition to those of households. The accounts for the household and NPISH sectors are currently combined; separate estimates are not available.
	
		Average level of personal debt
		
			 Calendar year £ 
		
		
			 1993 10,768 
			 1994 11,248 
			 1995 11,766 
			 1996 12,215 
			 1997 12,999 
			 1998 13,796 
			 1999 14,859 
			 2000 16,102 
			 2001 17,657 
			 2002 19,737

Tax Credits

Russell Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to carry out an inquiry into the Inland Revenue's handling of applications for (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 5 June 2003
	I would refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 53W, and to the further update I provided during the debate in Westminster Hall on 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 120WH.

Tax Credits

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of extending the baby element of the child tax credit payable in the first year so that parents of multiple birth children receive payments for each child.

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of extending child tax credit, so that parents receive a higher family element to reflect each child in a multiple birth, is estimated to be £5 million per year.

Tax Credits

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the time and duration of each occasion since 1 April 2003 when staff working on the public helpline desks have been unable to access the computer system for handling children's tax credit claims.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 9 June 2003
	The IT system supporting the new tax credits has not been working as well as we expected and there has been unscheduled down time as a result. The Inland Revenue are working urgently with their IT partners to improve the system's availability, speed and stability.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Lambeth Palace Library

Hugh Bayley: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 8 May 2003, Official Report, column 864W, on Lambeth Palace Library, whether the Commissioners' review of the arrangements for the housing and conservation of the documentary heritage of the Church will (a) take account of the documentary heritage held by York Minster Library and (b) seek to define the purposes and role of the collections of York Minster Library and how they complement those of Lambeth Palace Library and supplement those in the north of England.

Stuart Bell: The terms of reference of the Review are concerned with collections belonging to the national institutions of the Church of England and do not, therefore, extend to the cathedral libraries, which belong to the various Deans and Chapters.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

National Lottery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make the funding of sports and open space projects for community use a priority for unallocated Lottery funds.

Richard Caborn: The 15 Lottery distributing bodies have, collectively, committed around £1 billion more to projects, than the overall balance held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund. The latest available figures for distributors' total commitments is over £4.2 billion, and for the total NLDF balance, under £3.2 billion.
	Both sport and open space projects continue to be a priority for lottery funding. Sport currently receives 16 2/3 per cent. of all new Lottery income and they are guaranteed to get at least this until 2009. Furthermore, up to the end of the financial year 2002–03 sport had received over £2.22 billion as a result of the Lottery.
	The New Opportunities Fund, under its environment remit, has already funded a number of open space projects and will continue to do so in the future. The HLF also funds open space projects.

New Opportunities Fund

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been committed by the New Opportunities Fund under its environment programme in the financial year 2001–02.

Richard Caborn: The New Opportunities fund committed £5,653,000 under its environment programme. This is a revision to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey) on 19 May 2003, Official Report, columns 540W-542W.

Sport England

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with Sport England regarding the development of the High Performance Centre for Greater London at Pickets Lock; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with Sport England regarding their re-prioritisation programme to better match their income to expenditure; what impact is expected on the development of the High Performance Centre for Greater London; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  if she will make a statement on the feasibility study being undertaken by Sport England into the proposed High Performance Centre for Greater London.

Richard Caborn: Sport England has kept me and my officials fully informed of its review of its Lottery funded programmes. The Review is being carried out as part of the modernisation and restructuring programme that we have asked it to undertake and will ensure that all projects meet its new business strategy. I understand that its Council plan to consider all the projects under review at its meeting in July.
	I have been kept fully informed by Sport England about the proposed High performance Centre at Pickets Lock including the decision by UK Athletics to select this site as its preferred location for its London Indoor 200m Centre.
	The Lea Valley Regional Park Authority is undertaking a study into the feasibility of constructing and operating an indoor athletics centre at the Pickets Lock site. The study is being funded by the Authority, Sport England the Capital Modernisation Fund. Sport England, the Authority and UK Athletics are working closely together to facilitate the study which will form the basis of a Lottery application from the Authority should it consider the project viable.

Television Exports

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the (a) value and (b) unit sales of UK television exports in (i) US, (ii) Canada, (iii) Germany, (iv) France, (v) Spain, (vi) Italy, (vii) Scandinavia, (viii) the rest of Western Europe, (ix) Eastern Europe, (x) Australia and New Zealand, (xi) Latin America, (xii) Asia and (xiii) elsewhere, broken down by type, in (A) 2000, (B) 2001 and (C) 2002.

Kim Howells: This Department, in liaison with the British Television Distribution Association (BTDA), collate and publish annual statistical export data on behalf of the television industry. The following tables provide the information requested.
	
		UK television export statistics 2000 vs 2001
		
			  $ million 
			  2000 2001 Percentage  
		
		
			 Sales by territory
			 USA 167 199 19.2 
			 Canada 16 22 31.5 
			 Germany 59 59 0.1 
			 France 50 37 -25.7 
			 Spain 28 22 -21.8 
			 Italy 16 19 16.2 
			 Scandinavia 29 29 0.1 
			 Rest of Western Europe 43 38 -12.5 
			 Eastern Europe 16 18 11.4 
			 Australia/New Zealand 65 59 -9.0 
			 Latin America 22 24 9.0 
			 Asia 50 46 -9.6 
			 Not elsewhere classified 55 53 -2.1 
			 Total 617 624 1.2 
			 
			 Sales by type
			 Television 339 352 3.9 
			 Videogram 41 54 30.5 
			 Co-production 58 61 5.0 
			 Format/Local production 23 35 51.4 
			 Licensing/misc 149 118 -20.8 
			 Commission on UK sales 7 4 -36.7 
			 Total 617 624 1.2 
		
	
	
		UK television export statistics 2001 vs 2002
		
			  $ million 
			  2000 2001 Percentage  
		
		
			 Sales by territory
			 USA 199 232 16.4 
			 Canada 22 26 20.3 
			 Germany 59 40 -32 
			 France 37 36 -2.6 
			 Spain 22 23 1.7 
			 Italy 19 17 -8.9 
			 Scandinavia 29 25 -14.8 
			 Rest of Western Europe 38 69 82.3 
			 Eastern Europe 18 18 2.3 
			 Australia/New Zealand 59 65 8.8 
			 Latin America 24 23 -5.8 
			 Asia 46 55 21.1 
			 Not elsewhere classified 53 38 -28.1 
			 Total 624 666 6.6 
			 
			 Sales by type
			 Television 352 323 -8.2 
			 Videogram 54 77 43.8 
			 Co-production 61 79 29.3 
			 Format/Local production 35 40 12.2 
			 Licensing/misc 118 145 22.9 
			 Commission on UK sales 4 2 -55.1 
			 Total 624 666 6.6 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The BTDA represents over 30 of the UK's leading distributors, including all the major companies such as BBC Worldwide, Carlton International, Granada International, Channel 4 International, Minotaur and Fremantle International Distribution. In total the organisation represent more than 90 per cent. of all UK exports. The BTDA was relaunched in 1999 as a joint venture with producers' association PACT—with a key objective being the development of relationships between producers and distributors for the creation of improved programming for export.
	2. Numbers have been rounded up or down to the nearest million.

Tourism (Staffordshire)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  in what ways her Department has supported the Staffordshire tourism industry;
	(2)  what plans she has to encourage an increase in the level of national and international tourism within Staffordshire.

Kim Howells: As part of the Government's programme of tourism reform, the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are, from 1 April 2003, playing a stronger part in the strategic leadership of tourism, with the Regional Tourist Boards (RIBs) being their natural delivery partners. Guidance has been issued to RDAs on how tourism should be covered in their Corporate Plans and Regional Economic Strategies, including the development with RIBs, sub-regional and local partners of Regional Sustainable Tourism Strategies. 'Advantage West Midlands' (RDA) will lead this process in the West Midlands, taking into account the tourism potential of Staffordshire, and in 2003–04 will receive £252,000 to pass on to the 'Visit Heart of England Tourist Board, (VHOE) subject to agreed targets and objectives.
	In addition 'Advantage West Midlands' recently provided South Staffordshire with resources to commission a study of the area's visitor profile. The study will include an action plan, which will guide future investment in tourism development in the area. A similar process is also occurring in North Staffordshire.
	The Government has invested some £72 million in 2002–03, and is spending a further £50 million this year, on tourism, including £47 million to VisitBritain to encourage people in Britain and abroad to take their holiday here. I am sure that VisitBritain's campaigns, such as 'Outdoor Britain' which leads on the Peak District National Park, will, alongside the good work done by Visit Heart of England Tourist Board, be of enormous benefit to tourism in Staffordshire.
	Government support for tourism is not limited to supporting a tourist board. DCMS alone spends some £1 billion per year, for example, on the arts, royal parks and palaces, museums and galleries, much of which directly benefits tourism.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

George Osborne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what the total UK expenditure has been on the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: DFID has spent £122 million on reconstruction and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan since 2001.

Agricultural Subsidies

Martin Caton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment the Department has made of the impact of reducing agricultural subsidies in Europe on nations in the developing world.

Hilary Benn: DFID have commissioned a number of studies looking at the impact of different aspects of agricultural liberalisation by developed countries. Some studies have analysed the effect of reforming certain commodity market regimes in the EU, such as the sugar and dairy regimes. These have shown that reducing support in the EU for these commodities will have a positive impact on world prices, thus benefiting exporting developing countries. It will also lead to reduced dumping on developing country markets which is currently harming local production and trade. But there will also be losers as some countries may see their highly profitable preferential access to the EU market eroded.
	A recent study on wider liberalisation in agriculture by all developed countries shows similar results. It also stresses the need for complementary policies in helping developing countries reap the full benefits of agricultural trade. Support will need to be provided to those who lose their preferential access to EU markets in order to identify alternative market opportunities. This will need to be taken carefully into consideration within individual countries' development strategies.
	DFID is also in the process of commissioning a long-term study over three years to look into the effects of developed countries' domestic and export subsidies on developing countries. This will look in detail at specific country and commodity case studies.

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if she will list the actions her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are taking to comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002; whether she has made an estimate of the cost of compliance; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: All three of our UK buildings have been refurbished over the last two years. Formal surveys of each were carried out as part of these works, and in each case has confirmed that there is no asbestos present. There were no additional costs incurred as a result of the regulations.
	There are no agencies or NDPBs for which this Department is responsible.

Departmental Website

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what actions she has taken or is taking to ensure that the websites of her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are accessible to partially sighted and blind people; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Specific consideration has been given to visually impaired users of the DFID website through the use of clear fonts and distinguishing colours. Overall the site is graphics/image light with the majority of the information on the website in text format, which can be easily manipulated through Screen reader software.
	Our site is under redevelopment, which will involve loser compliance with W3C Web Accessibility Initiative and consultations with external organisations such as the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

G8 Summit

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on the international development issues discussed at the G8 Summit.

Hilary Benn: The G8 met in Evian on 1–3 June and discussed a number of issues relating to international development:
	On Africa, significant progress was made on areas such as conflict resolution. It was agreed to expand the group of Africa Personal Representatives and meet as the Africa Partners Forum in November 2003.
	The G8 supported the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, as part of wider work on corruption. We are now working towards a Conference on the Initiative in mid-June.
	There was support for the International Finance Facility, which would significantly increase volumes of aid, up to 2015. Finance Ministers were asked to report by September on financing instruments, including this Facility.
	There was a commitment to making progress at the WTO Ministerial in Cancun.
	The outcome on Access to Medicines includes some actions for G8 countries, which we will push forward in coming months in our country programmes.
	The UK announced a further $80 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, while calling for improvements in its management. Other EU countries will announce their commitments at the European Council in late June.
	The G8 renewed their commitment to eradicating polio by 2005.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Biometric Testing

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce biometric tests with (a) passport applications and (b) other official documents.

Beverley Hughes: As indicated in its 2003–08 Corporate and Business Plan the UK Passport Service (UKPS) is planning to include a computer chip in British passports storing a facial recognition biometric captured from photographs submitted with applications. This form of biometric deployment will be in line with international standards endorsed in May 2003 by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
	Studies are also planned by the UKPS and DVLA into the use of fingerprints and iris scan biometrics. These studies will include trials of live capture of the biometric at personal interviews, which will be required, if these forms of biometric are deployed. Finger prints or iris scans could be included in passports, passport cards along side facial recognition and in driving licences.

Cannabis

Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further milestones remain in the process which could lead to the legalisation of medicinal cannabis; when the final decision will be made; and when he expects that medicinal cannabis could be made available in the UK.

Bob Ainsworth: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), an agency of the Department of Health, is currently evaluating the safety, quality and effectiveness of a medical preparation of a cannabis-based drug developed and extensively tested by GW Pharmaceuticals. This assessment by the MHRA is one which all prospective new medicines have to go through and is designed to protect public health.
	Concurrently, in consultation with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the Government is considering how the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 would apply to prescribed cannabis-based medicine in the event that the MHRA approves the safety, quality and effectiveness of the product.
	If marketing approval is forthcoming, we will seek Parliament's agreement to any necessary changes to the Regulations. Our aim is to ensure ready and early availability of the drug as a prescribed medicine once marketing approval has been received. It is a possibility this could be done by the end of the year.

Deportations

Ian Cawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were deported from the UK following failed asylum claims (a) in each year from 1980 to 2002 and (b) in each calendar month in 2003.

Beverley Hughes: Data on the number of principal asylum applicants removed from the United Kingdom in each year from 1992 to 2002, and for the first three months of 2003 are given in the table. Data are not available for earlier periods.
	
		Principal asylum applicants removed from the United Kingdom 1992 to March 2003
		
			  Principal applicants 
		
		
			 1992 1,350 
			 1993 1,820 
			 1994 2,220 
			 1995 3,170 
			 1996 4,820 
			 1997 7,165 
			 1998 6,990 
			 1999 7,665 
			 2000(4) 8,980 
			 2001(4) 9,285 
			 2002(4) 10,410 
			  
			 2003  
			 January(4) 770 
			 February(4) 890 
			 March(4) 955 
		
	
	(1) Data have been rounded to the nearest five.
	(2) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, excluding dependants. Removal figures exclude dependants of asylum seekers removed; data on dependants removed have only been collected since April 2001.
	(3) Including persons known to have departed 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them.
	(4) Provisional.
	The data provided in the table exclude dependants of asylum seekers, since data on dependants have only been available since April 2001. 1,495 dependants of asylum seekers were removed in the period April to December 2001, 2,925 in 2002, 390 in January 2003, 455 in February 2003 and 525 in March 2003. All data are provisional.
	Deportations are a specific subset of removals alongside persons subject to administrative removal, removal due to illegal entry action or those refused entry at port and subsequently removed.
	Information on the removal of asylum applicants is published quarterly. The next publication will cover the period up to June 2003, and will be available from the end of August 2003 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Drug-related Assets

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the value is of drug-related assets that have been recovered each year since May 2000.

Bob Ainsworth: The receipts remitted to the Secretary of State from confiscation orders made under the Drug Trafficking Acts 1986 and 1994 and from drug cash seizures under the Drug Trafficking Act 1994 for each year from 2000 were:
	£14,827,000 for 2000–01 and £16,503,000 for 2001–02. The figure for the year 2002–03 is not yet available.

Sex Industry

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to provide counselling and protection for women and young girls found after being brought into the UK illegally to work in the sex industry; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The White Paper "Secure Borders, Safe Haven"—published in February 2002—sets out our general proposals for assisting the victims of trafficking.
	On 10 March, we launched a pilot scheme under which adult female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation who are willing to come forward to the authorities and help law enforcement against organised criminals are offered protection and a range of support services such as counselling and health checks in safe accommodation managed by a voluntary sector organisation.
	We will also consider, in the light of individual circumstances, whether it would be appropriate to allow such victims who have co-operated to remain here. Where they are to return home, we will assist them to do so, providing them with initial counselling, ensuring that they have suitable accommodation to return to, and providing help to enable them to re-integrate into their own community and find employment.
	Under the provisions of the Children Act 1989 minors are the responsibility of local authority social services departments. It is not possible for minors to be admitted to the pilot scheme.

Sickness Absence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in the Department have been on long-term sick leave in each of the last two years.

Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer on 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 219W.

Unauthorised Campers

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he plans to take to reduce the financial burden to local authorities of evicting unauthorised campers.

Tony McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister already provides grants to local authorities for environmental, protective and cultural services. It is for local authorities to set out their own priorities for use of their resources, such as for evicting unauthorised campers from land.
	Grants for the provision of transit sites, and refurbishment of existing sites are specifically targeted for Gypsies and Travellers.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Access for Disabled People

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what actions she has taken or is taking to ensure that the websites of her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are accessible to partially sighted and blind people; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department adheres to the Guidelines for UK Government Websites, which aim to make websites accessible to the largest possible number of users, regardless of disability or the level of technology they are using. We also carry out user testing to ensure the sites are easily accessible and usable by all.

Accident Group

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will launch an investigation under the Companies Acts into the Accident Group.

Melanie Johnson: The administrators of the company have a duty under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 to report to the Department of Trade and Industry on the conduct of the company's directors. If the hon. Member has information which indicates the need for an additional Companies Act investigation he should send it to the Department for consideration.

Arms Exports (Indonesia)

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list outstanding arms related export licence applications from companies wishing to export to Indonesia; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: As of the 6 June 2003, 30 Standard Individual Export Licence applications and 15 Open Individual Export Licence applications were awaiting a decision, where the end users were in Indonesia, with the following ratings:
	ML4
	ML5
	ML6
	ML10
	ML11
	ML13
	ML14
	ML16
	ML21
	ML22
	PL5001
	PL5017
	S1P1
	1A001
	3A233
	5A001
	5A002
	5D002
	5E002
	6A001
	6A002
	6A006
	6A203
	7A102
	7A103

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are taking to comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002; whether she has made an estimate of the cost of compliance; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The DTI has for the London Estate an Asbestos Register of known asbestos materials. We inspect the known asbestos on a regular basis to ensure that it is still safe. If not we would recommend the necessary action such as removal or encapsulation. We are contacting landlords or Managing Agents to prepare the necessary documentation of known asbestos for all buildings that the DTI or agencies occupy.
	We are proposing to be ahead of the requirement to comply with the Regulations by the end of the year.
	Procedures are in place to advise contractors of any known or suspect material when they are working within a specific vicinity.
	A procedure is in place for the identification of known locations.
	Costs can not be identified at present until such time as the whole has been surveyed.

Credit Agencies

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list (a) licensed credit agencies and (b) home credit agencies.

Melanie Johnson: A list of credit agencies and home credit agencies licensed by the Office of Fair Trading is not readily available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Outdoor Activities

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what additional guidance she has given to management units organising outdoor activities for her Department since her Department's recently published accident record.

Patricia Hewitt: Following this incident the department is reviewing its procedures for assessing such events. The Departments Health and Safety team are in the process of devising a checklist for employees carrying out outdoor activities (such as away days). The checklist will ensure that the employees are:
	(a) Trained, the method of training, ensure they keep a record of the training session;
	(b) Whether all employees are able to take part—i.e. details of fitness, disability etc;
	(c) Is there any basic knowledge employees should have prior to the activity?
	(d) Are the employees taking part aware of the potential dangers when carrying out the activity?
	(e) Have risk assessments been carried out for all activities, these will highlight hazards and risks, and the control methods;
	(f) Will the employees be provided with relevant PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)?
	(g) Have the employees been made aware of the Emergency Procedures on site i.e. Fire Exits, First Aiders, Assembly Points etc;
	(h) The procurement of such activities will also require that the providing company has adequate and suitable insurance and that there is evidence that any equipment used in the course of the activity is fit for purpose.

EU Consumer Credit Directive

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's position is on the proposed EU Directive on Consumer Credit (Draft September 2002); and if she will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Government supports the Commission's overall objective of creating an internal market that provides a high level of consumer protection enabling consumers to shop cross border with confidence and lenders to trade with legal certainty. However, we have serious concerns about the current draft delivering this objective and believe it needs substantial change.
	We aim to secure recognition that mortgages require significantly different regulation than other forms of consumer credit and therefore should be outside the scope of the Directive. We also recognise that the Directive would prove a significant burden on credit unions and are therefore seeking to exclude them from the scope of the Directive.
	We are fighting hard to ensure that we maintain the joint and several liability protections that currently govern credit card use in the UK and are highly valued by consumers.

Executive Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she has taken since 1997 to address excessive executive remuneration.

Melanie Johnson: In May 1999 the Government commissioned a review of compliance by quoted companies with the Greenbury Code of Best Practice and the Combined Code. Subsequently, a consultation document "Directors' Remuneration" was issued in July 1999 setting out proposals for strengthening the legislative framework. In December 2001 the Government issued a consultation document which sought views on draft legislation. This legislation (The Directors' Remuneration Report Regulations 2002) came into force on 1 August 2002 and applies to quoted companies with financial years ending on or after 31 December 2002. The regulations significantly enhance requirements relating to disclosure of directors' remuneration, particularly with regard to policy matters, and provide for an annual shareholder vote on the Directors' Remuneration Report.
	Most recently, on 2 June this year, the Government issued a consultation document entitled "Directors' Remuneration—Contracts, Performance and Severance", seeking views on a range of options to improve the linkage between compensation and performance when contracts are terminated.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which international environmental standard requirements the ECGD imposes on companies seeking loans; and which environmental standard requirements on these companies originate from the UK Government.

Patricia Hewitt: ECGD requires as a minimum that all projects, goods or services comply with host country legislation, regulations and standards. In addition, ECGD normally expects the projects it supports to comply with World Bank Group environmental guidelines and relevant safeguard policies.
	Alternatively, ECGD may accept other relevant internationally recognised standards including those of the UK, EU, WHO, World Bank, IFC and relevant regional development banks.
	Host country or project standards that are below international standards would normally be unacceptable and, in line with the World Bank Guidelines, would need site specific justification.
	UK Government policy is that ECGD should use the environmental guidelines and standards developed by the international financial institutions identified above rather than developing its own standards.

Ferries

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with (a) P & O and (b) Stena Line on competition policy issues on the North Channel crossing from Loch Ryan ports to Northern Ireland.

Melanie Johnson: None.

Foundries

Syd Rapson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are employed in the UK foundry sector; and if she will make a statement on the contribution of the foundry sector to domestic GDP.

Alan Johnson: The latest available official data is for 2001 which gives employment in the foundry sector in December of that year as 29,000 1 . The contribution of the foundry industry to GDP in 2001 was 0.1 per cent. (provisional) 2 .
	These figures relate to businesses classified by the ONS to SIC code 27.5 "casting of metals". They omit casting activities by in-house foundries which belong to a parent company whose main business is other than casting.
	Source:
	1 ONS Annual Business Inquiry
	2 ONS Annual Business Inquiry, National Accounts Blue Book, and Input/Output tables.

Foundries

Syd Rapson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many jobs have been lost in the foundry sector in the past (a) year, (b) five years and (c) 10 years.

Alan Johnson: Data on employment in the foundry industry since 1993 are as shown in the table. Figures are not available for the past year.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1993 38,000 
			 1994 38,000 
			 1995 38,000 
			 1996 38,000 
			 1997 38,000 
			 1998 35,000 
			 1999 33,000 
			 2000 32,000 
			 2001 29,000 
		
	
	Note:
	Approximate net change over the past 10 years: -9,000
	Approximate change from 1998–2001: -6,000
	Source:
	1993–1997: Annual Census of Production
	1998–2001: Annual Business Survey

Foundries

Syd Rapson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many foundries have ceased trading in the past (a) year, (b) five years and (c) 10 years.

Alan Johnson: Data are available for the net change in numbers of foundries, not for the numbers that have ceased trading. Information is available for 1996 to 2002, as follows.
	
		
			  SIC 27.51Casting of iron SIC 27. 52Casting of steel SIC 27.53 Casting of light metals SIC 27. 54 Casting of other non-ferrous metals Total SIC 27.5 Casting of Metals 
		
		
			 Numbers of foundries(5) 
			 1996 290 200 160 280  
			 1997 265 205 155 275  
			 1998 270 200 155 255  
			 1999 240 210 165 250  
			 2000 220 210 185 225  
			 2001 210 205 200 225  
			 2002 215 215 190 215 
			 Approximate Change(6) 
			 1996–2002 -75 +15 +30 -65 -95 
			 1998–2002 -55 +15 +35 -40 -45 
		
	
	(5) Local units (that is, individual sites). All figures are rounded to nearest 5.
	(6) All changes are approximate because they are calculated from rounded data.Source:
	National Statistics, Size Analysis of United Kingdom Businesses, based on Interdepartmental Business Register

Office of Fair Trading

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the powers vested in the OFT by virtue of section 2 of the Fair Trading Act 1973 are applicable in the devolved countries of the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: Yes. Section 2 of the Fair Trading Act 1973 gives the Director General of the Office of Fair Trading broad powers to investigate any commercial activities that may not be in the interest of the consumer anywhere within the United Kingdom.

Pharmacies

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she will make an interim report to the House prior to publishing the Government's proposals in response to the OFT's report on the control of entry regulations and the retail pharmacy market.

Melanie Johnson: The Government announced on 26 March 2003 that they will come forward with proposals to respond to the OFT's study on retail pharmacies before the summer recess and will publish a progress report at the end of June.

Pharmacies

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the competing factors that have to be balanced by her Department in order to produce the balanced package of measures in response to the OFT's report on the control of entry regulations and the retail pharmacy.

Melanie Johnson: The Government said on 26 March that while we favour change to open up the market and improve quality and access this needs to be achieved without diminishing the crucial role that pharmacies play, especially in poorer and rural areas. We have also made clear that we are considering all the issues raised with us by stakeholders.

Post Office Closures

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the proposed closure of the Pagham branch post office as set out in the Post Office Limited press release of 28 May.

Stephen Timms: Post Office Ltd.'s proposal to close the Pagham post office branch has been made under the company's urban reinvention programme.
	Decisions on post office closures and relocations are an operational matter for the company. It would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in determining individual closures. That has been the policy of successive Governments since 1969 when the Post Office was established as a statutory public corporation.
	In accordance with the Code of Practice on Post Office Closures and Relocations—agreed between Post Office Ltd. and Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for postal services—the company enters into consultation on all proposed closures for a period of not less than one calendar month. Postwatch are consulted on every post office closure proposal before a decision is made and there is an opportunity for those affected by a proposal, and the local MP, to make representations to the company or to Postwatch before a final decision is made.

Post Office Closures

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post office closure decisions under the urban reinvention programme have been reversed following public consultation.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on post office closure proposals under the urban reinvention programme following public consultation are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Office Closures

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have closed under the urban reinvention programme, broken down by region.

Stephen Timms: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that the number of post office closures under the urban reinvention programme are analysed by Government region on a quarterly basis. The following chart represents the number of urban reinvention closures, by region, as at the end of March 2003.
	
		Urban reinvention closures by region
		
			 Region End of March 2003 
		
		
			 East Midlands 7 
			 East of England 11 
			 London 11 
			 North East 4 
			 North West 10 
			 Northern Ireland 0 
			 Scotland 8 
			 South East 19 
			 South West 9 
			 Wales 9 
			 West Midlands 7 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 7 
			 Total 102

Post Office Closures

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices have been closed within the Greater London area in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that as at the end of each of the last three financial years, the number of post office closures in London was as follows:
	2000–01—10
	2001–02—16
	2002–03—44
	Of the 44 closures in the period 2002/03, 11 were compensated closures attributable to Post Office Ltd.'s programme to restructure the urban network of post offices. The increase in unplanned closures underlines the need for the company's urban reinvention programme under which the company is seeking to match the scale of the network to the volume of business available, and so ensure a viable network for the future.

Post Office Closures

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much time is allotted for public consultation on the proposed closure of post offices within the Greater London area.

Stephen Timms: In accordance with the Code of Practice on Post Office Closures and Relocations—agreed between Post Office Ltd and the consumer body Postwatch—a period of not less than one calendar month is allowed for consultation on a proposed post office closure.

Post Office Closures

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post office branch closures over the last 12 months have been opposed by Postwatch; if he will list them; and how many of these post offices have (a) remained open, (b) had the decision to close postponed and (c) been closed or set for closure.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on post office closure proposals under the urban reinvention programme are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Office Closures

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices (a) have closed since 1 January 2001, and (b) are subject to consultation on closure, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on post office closure proposals under the urban reinvention programme are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Sustainable Development

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which United Kingdom commitments arising from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (a) have been incorporated into the Department's existing delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements and (b) will be incorporated in its delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements in advance of the 2004 Spending Review.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 22 May 2003
	My Department's contributions to progress on the commitments agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) range across a number of areas, as set out in the Annex to the Government's Memorandum to the Environmental Audit Committee on WSSD follow-up (12 February 2003). They are reflected in the Department's current business plans and will be further incorporated and refined in the light of future developments, for example on the Doha Development Round, work on a UK Sustainable Consumption and Production Strategy and an independent report commissioned by the Department on options for action at the international level to follow up the WSSD outcomes on Corporate Social Responsibility. Where appropriate and relevant the commitments will be taken into account in setting my Department's next Public Service Agreement as part of the 2004 Spending Review.

Unsolicited Advertising

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with network providers, the Direct Marketing Association and the Advertising Standards Agency on the best methods by which to protect consumers from unsolicited junk SMS text-message and mobile phone voicemail advertisements.

Stephen Timms: Regulations to implement the new Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications will introduce stricter rules on the use of SMS messages for the purposes of direct marketing, and these Regulations are currently open for public consultation closing on 19 June. The consultation paper is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the DTI website at the following URL: http://www.dti.gov.uk/industries/ecommunications/directive on privacy electronic communications 200258ec.html
	As part of the consultation, some 1,200 interested parties were contacted direct in March 2003, including most mobile network providers, the DMA and the ASA. In addition, there have been a number of meetings between my officials and major stakeholders, including a joint DTI/DMA open meeting on 29 May.
	The present rules are set out in the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999, which introduced a statutory opt-out scheme, the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), through which individuals can register to avoid the receipt of unsolicited direct marketing calls. Direct marketers must not contact numbers listed on the TPS without the prior consent of the recipient of the call. The body responsible for the enforcement of the Regulations, the Information Commissioner's Office, treats an SMS message to a mobile as a "call" for the purposes of the current Regulations. Until the new Regulations are in force, individuals can therefore best protect themselves from unsolicited direct marketing SMS and voicemail messages to their mobile telephone by registering their number with the TPS. Details of how to register are available on the TPS website at www.tpsonline.org.uk

Unsolicited E-mails

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to introduce legislation in the United Kingdom to reduce the number of unsolicited e-mails.

Stephen Timms: There will be new controls on the use of unsolicited commercial e-mail under the UK's implementing regulations for the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC). The new rules, to come into force this year, will require that unsolicited e-mails may only be sent for the purposes of direct marketing to individuals with their prior consent, except where there is an existing customer relationship between the sender and the addressee.
	Consultation on draft regulations started on 27 March this year, closing on 19 June, and details are available in the Libraries of the House or on the DTI website at the following URL: www.dti.gov.uk/industries/ecommunications/directive on privacy electronic communications 200258ec.html.
	Each member state of the European Union is required to implement the Directive.

DEFENCE

Iraq (Mental Health)

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that there are sufficient resources to meet the mental health needs of (a) armed forces personnel returning from Iraq, (b) their nurses and doctors and (c) their families and carers.

Lewis Moonie: Any members of the Armed Forces, including medical personnel, returning from the Gulf with mental health problems will receive appropriate medical treatment from within the Defence Medical Services or the NHS. In the United Kingdom, the mental health needs of their families and carers are the responsibility of the NHS. The Ministry of Defence would be responsible for the mental health care of their dependants if they were stationed overseas.

Air Training and Sea Cadet Corps

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on (a) the role and (b) the contribution made by the air training corps, sea cadet force on Merseyside (i) the individual cadets and (ii) the serving community.

Lewis Moonie: The Air Training Corps' (ATC's) role as a national youth organisation is to encourage a practical interest in aviation and the RAF and also to develop the personal qualities of its members. The Sea Cadet Corps (SCC) is an independent charitable body that provides an opportunity for youths to learn seamanship skills and to develop their personal qualities also. Both organisations foster the spirit of adventure and develop qualities of leadership, encouraging a sense of community and good citizenship that is highly valued by both military and civilian employers. They also encourage membership of schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, which provides practical, cultural and adventurous activities, including an emphasis on helping others in the local community.
	The ATC and the SCC support their local community through such contributions as Remembrance Sunday parades and providing guards of honour and marching bands for mayoral and civic events. A significant emphasis is also placed on raising money for charity, with local causes such as Claire House Children's Hospice receiving fund-raising through sponsorship. The cadets themselves carry out all these community activities. However, there are also occasional joint ventures with the serving military community, such as the support provided at the Southport Air Show and the recent 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Cluster Munitions

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much cluster bomb type ordnance was recently deployed in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 June 2003, Official Report, column 507W, to my hon. Friend for Lewisham Deptford (Joan Ruddock).

D-Day Anniversary

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans the Government have to (a) commemorate in this country and (b) support in France the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence is working closely with the French Comite du Debarquement, in association with the Normandy Veterans Association to develop a full programme of commemorations in France. Already there are preliminary plans for events on the beaches and in Caen, Bayeux, Arromanches and Colleville Montgomery from 5 to 7 June 2004. A number of options for United Kingdom involvement at these events are being considered where it is intended that there will be suitable representation at Minister and Senior Officer level.
	We will also be providing assistance, including suitable representation at Minister and Senior Officer level to a service of remembrance and thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on 20 October 2004, being organised by the Normandy Veterans Association.

Defence Equipment Policy (EU)

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the European Commission's communication, Towards an EU Defence Equipment Policy.

Geoff Hoon: The Government's position is outlined in the Explanatory Memorandum on European Community Document entitled: Communication from the Commission to the Council, The European Parliament, The European Social and Economic Committee of the Regions "European Defence—Industrial and Market Issues: Towards an EU Defence Equipment Policy" Reference Number 8484/03 [COM(2003) 113 final] dated 15 May 2003, which is available in the Library of the House.

Defence Scientific and Technical Laboratory

Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the responses made to the Defence Scientific and Technical Laboratory's site rationalisation consultation document.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 12 June 2003
	I will arrange for a copy of the Trades Unions' response to the Dstl Site Rationalisation Consultation Document to be placed in the Library.
	It would be inappropriate to publish comments from individual members of staff as these relate to their personal circumstances and I am therefore withholding this information in accordance with Exemption 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government information.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Repository; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence has a central records repository that is located at Hayes in West London. The records repository is not a defence agency and does not have any other sites associated with it, including in Scotland.
	In January 2002, there were 100 Ministry of Defence personnel directly involved in providing the main records and support services at the Hayes site, some working part-time, at an annual cost of £1.743 million. There are currently 84 MOD personnel, including part-timers, providing records and support services at Hayes at an annual cost of £1.469 million.
	In January 2002, there were 12 MOD personnel based at Hayes who were working on associated tasks at an annual cost of £281,000. There are now 19 MOD personnel working on associated tasks at an annual cost of £495,000.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Meteorological Office; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Lewis Moonie: The current number of people working for the Meteorological Office is 2,170 as at 11 June 2003. Of this number, 151 people are currently employed in Scotland. The total Met Office pay bill for Financial Year 2003–04 is budgeted at £74,700,000. This compares with a total of 2,208 people working for the Met Office as at 11 June 2002, with 147 people employed in Scotland, and a total actual pay bill for Financial Year 2002–03 of £77,261,000.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Scientific Advisory Council; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Lewis Moonie: The Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC) is an advisory Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). It has a membership of 13, supported by an additional seven Ministry of Defence officials. None work or reside in Scotland at present. As an advisory NDPB, it does not incur expense on its own account.

Goodwill Visit

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the last occasion was that a goodwill visit was made by a vessel of the navy of the Irish Republic to London; and when he will extend an invitation for a future visit.

Lewis Moonie: The last visit made by a vessel of the navy of the Irish Republic to London took place from the 6 to 11 October 1997 to participate in an International Maritime Defence Exhibition. Visits to United Kingdom ports by vessels of the Irish Republic are always welcome and do not require a formal invitation.

HMS Dryad

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the procedures that Defence Estates will follow on the disposal of the site of HMS Dryad.

Lewis Moonie: If the site is ultimately identified for disposal then Defence Estates will dispose of the site in line with the guidelines set out in Government Accounting.
	It is too early to say what the specific marketing arrangements might be. However, Defence Estates is fully aware of the historic significance of the site, not least Southwick House, and will ensure that due cognisance is given to those parts of the site where sensitivity exists and arrangements for public access to historic features are retained where appropriate.

Instructional Techniques Course

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to modify the aims of the Instructional Techniques Course to enable instructors to change their teaching methods to trainees; and what advice has been sought on developing appropriate coaching and mentoring skills.

Lewis Moonie: A standardised set of instructional techniques is now included in instructor courses following a review of the practices in single Services. This includes coaching and mentoring skills, developed following examination of internal best practice within each Service. Further instructional modules are also being developed drawing on the outcome of the review.

Medical Personnel

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much depleted uranium ordinance was used during military operations in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence gave on 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 445W, to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr Corbyn).
	These figures have also been published on the MOD website at www.mod.uk/issues/depleted uranium

New Army Recruits

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent research he has commissioned into the psychological profiles of new recruits to the Army.

Lewis Moonie: It is already the Army's practice to build up a personal profile of an individual during the recruiting and selection process, to better assign that individual to an appropriate career employment group. Action is in hand to allow existing civilian medical records to be made available to the Army medical authorities at an early stage of training to allow more thorough medical/psychological screening to help reduce the incidence of injury and failure in training. The Army has recently evaluated a number of commercial tests of motivation and personality, but the results were inconclusive. However, a longer-term three-year research project is in the planning stage to identify a suitable test or tests.

Nimrod Programme

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors underlay the decision to halt the production phase of the Nimrod programme; what assessment he has made of the effect on jobs of halting the production phase; what plans he has to meet BAe Systems and the trade unions involved to discuss the effects of halting the production phase; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answr given by my noble Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement in another place on 19 February 2003, Official Report, column 175–77W. The Agreement that was struck with BAe Systems to restructure the Nimrod contract, including a controlled stop to production, acknowledged that the programme had a history of financial loss and delay. It recognised the need to minimise the cost increases that have resulted from overlapping development and production programmes. Design maturity must be established before further production work for aircraft four to 18 can re-commence. The Company continue to assure the Department that they are working in as sensitive way as possible to mitigate the effects of the proposed redundancy programme, including looking at ways in which they may retain the key skills they require to meet the requirements of the Agreement. There are best placed to manage the industrial relations issues that have arisen following the Agreement, though we do remain in close touch with BAe Systems and the trades unions on this matter.

Nuclear Weapons Tests

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when the UK will next participate in a sub-critical test in the United States; and to what use the data collected will be put;
	(2)  whether the Government is making preparations for participation in a sub-critical nuclear test experiment at the Nevada test site.

Lewis Moonie: Experiments of this kind are required for the purposes I explained in my answer of 12 February 2002, Official Report, column 166W, to the hon. Member for Cleethorpes (Ms McIsaac). The Government attaches great importance to maintaining the safety and serviceability of the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons. The Strategic Defence Review in 1998 confirmed the need for a robust capability to underwrite the safety and reliability of Trident, in the absence of nuclear testing. Sub-critical experiments do not produce nuclear yield and are fully consistent with our obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. A review of the science behind this programme, which describes the need for the data from sub-critical experiments, was published in Nature in February 2002. The timing of any future experiment in the United States is under consideration.

Partnership Agreements

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to conclude a partnership agreement with the trade unions representing the staff in his Department.

Lewis Moonie: We do not have a Departmental partnership agreement with our trades unions, and we have no plans to introduce one.
	However, the Ministry of Defence is committed to working in partnership with its trades unions, and actively encourages the partnership approach of shared aims, objectives and outcomes, when consulting with the trades unions on issues that affect civilian staff.

RAF Manoeuvres

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the occasions on which RAF aircraft flew over South East Essex in the last six months; and what the purpose was of each flight.

Lewis Moonie: This information is not held centrally in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Reserve Forces

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maximum amount is that a self-employed GP in the Reserve Force may claim under the Reserve Forces Call-out and Recall (Financial Assistance) Regulations 1997, S.I. 1997, No. 309, under (a) Regulation (5), Employer's standard award and (b) Regulation (6), Employer's hardship award.

Lewis Moonie: A GP who is a partner in a practice may make a claim both in his capacity as a Reservist and as an employer. The latter will usually cover payments to locums and other additional training costs to the practice arising from call-out.
	The regulations to which you refer are Statutory Instrument 1997, No. 309, The Reserve Forces (Call-out and Recall)(Financial Assistance) Regulations. The information requested is contained within SI309/97. Under Part II, section 5 of SI309/97, an Employers Standard Award means:
	(a) a lump sum payment equivalent to any costs, other than recurring costs, but not exceeding either 6 per cent. of the called-out Reservist's average weekly earnings from the employer, multiplied by 52 or £2,400, whichever is less;
	(b) sums equivalent to any recurring costs not exceeding 4 per cent. of the called-out Reservist's average weekly earnings from that employer of £31, whichever is less, multiplied by the number of weeks in the period of the Reservist's relevant service; and
	(c) an administrative expenses allowance of £55 for each employee who is accepted into service.
	Under Part II, section 5 of SI309, providing an Adjudication Officer is satisfied that the employer has incurred costs exceeding 1½ the amount of his Standard Award, and that incurring such costs would cause hardship which the Standard Award would not relieve, an employer would be entitled to a Hardship Award. There is no financial limit to a Hardship Award.
	Every employer's situation is different and has to be judged on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, it is not possible to state the maximum Standard and Hardship Awards that may be granted.

Royal Anglian Regiment

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make a statement about (a) the future strength of the Royal Anglian Regiment and (b) its composition of permanent battalions;
	(2)  if he will list those counties which are deemed to be the recruiting area for the Royal Anglian Regiment;
	(3)  if he will list the county regiments which were merged to form the Royal Anglian Regiment;
	(4)  whether he plans to disband the Second Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment as a permanent full-strength battalion.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 12 June 2003
	The following county regiments were merged to form the Royal Anglian Regiments in 1964: The Royal Norfolk Regiment; The Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Regiment; The Essex Regiment; The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment; The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment; The Royal Leicestershire Regiment; and The Northamptonshire Regiment.
	These counties also form the natural recruiting area for the Royal Anglian Regiment, with the addition of the County of Rutland, though we place no geographic limitations on the area from which eligible recruits can come.
	There are no current plans to disband or alter the composition of the Royal Anglian Regiment.

Royal Irish Regiment

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from the Government of the Irish Republic on the phasing out of the Home Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment.

Adam Ingram: I believe the hon. Member is referring to the Royal Irish Regiment Home Service battalions.
	The Ministry of Defence has not received any specific representations from the Government of the Irish Republic in relation to the Royal Irish Regiment Home Service battalions. The Irish government has, however, within the context of exchanges on all aspects of the Joint Declaration, expressed a view to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which emphasised that any decisions should take account of the aim of normalising security arrangements.

Shot Serviceman

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what time a serviceman was shot on 4 June at the Stanford Battle area in East Anglia; at what time he went on duty; at what time the scene of the incident was secured; at what time he was pronounced dead; at what time the police were called to investigate; at what time the next of kin were notified; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: Corporal Christopher Strickleton, a member of 3 Squadron RAF Regiment who was serving at RAF Aldergrove, died from gun shot wounds during a tactical live-firing exercise at Stanford Training Area in Norfolk on 4 June 2003. This tragic incident is the subject of an investigation by Norfolk Civil Constabulary who have primacy in the case. They have yet to complete their inquiries.
	Although the precise timings of all events are strictly matters for HM Coroner, we believe the events took place as follows:
	
		
			 Hours  
		
		
			 0800 Corporal Strickleton went on duty. 
			 1030 Incident occurred. 
			 1030–1035 999 call to emergency services. 
			 1115 In accordance with military guidelines, the scene of the incident was secured. 
			 1140 Next of kin first informed of incident. 
			 1200 Cpl Strickleton died. 
			 1210 Thetford Criminal Investigation Department notified of 999 incident. 
			 1230 Civilian police arrive at the scene. 
			 1230 Next of kin informed of death 
		
	
	Note:
	All these times are approximate
	My whole hearted sympathy goes to the family and friends of Corporal Strickleton for their loss.

Territorial Army

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what backlog of individual cases of TA reservists mobilised for recent operations in Iraq is still outstanding at the Army Pay Centre.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 9 June 2003
	I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Territorial Army

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the Territorial Army is deployed to the Gulf region.

Lewis Moonie: As at 11 June 2003, some 4 per cent. of the Territorial Army were deployed in the Gulf region.

Type 23 Frigates

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Type 23 frigates will be retrofitted with communications band electronic support measures systems.

Adam Ingram: I am withholding the information requested under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which relates to defence, security and international relations.

US Weapons Research

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether scientists at the Atomic Weapon Establishments are continuing their collaborative work with the United States on hydrodynamic and primary certification testing.

Lewis Moonie: The United Kingdom is continuing to participate in a series of hydrodynamic experiments in the USA to help ensure the safety and reliability of our Trident nuclear warheads. The Government attaches great importance to maintaining the safety and serviceability of the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons. The Strategic Defence Review in 1998 confirmed the need for a robust capability to underwrite the safety and reliability of Trident, in the absence of nuclear testing. A scientific methodology is being developed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment to continue to give this assurance with high confidence. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 12 February 2002, Official Report, column 166W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Ms McIsaac). A review of the science behind this programme was published in "Nature" in February 2002.

US Weapons Research

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if the UK (a) will contribute data to and (b) use US data gathered from the Advanced Concepts Initiative research and development work;
	(2)  to what extent UK scientists will collaborate with the US National Nuclear Security Administration's weapons laboratories in research and development into potential new and modified nuclear weapons capabilities under the Advanced Concepts Initiative.

Lewis Moonie: Exchanges of information on a wide field of technologies take place between the United Kingdom and the United States under the auspices of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement. There is no formal UK involvement in the US Advanced Concepts Initiative or the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Concepts research programme under the 1958 agreement.

VIP Aircraft

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the (a) lease and (b) procurement of VIP aircraft; and what aircraft fulfil this role.

Adam Ingram: The aircraft currently used to carry VIPs are primarily those of 32 (The Royal) Squadron. Two BAe 146, five BAe 125 aircraft and three leased Twin Squirrel helicopters are used. Routinely one Royal Navy Jetstream aircraft from RNAS Yeovilton is also available. Number 32 (The Royal) Squadron is primarily established for the support of military and government communications tasks in times of crisis and war; the Royal Household, government ministers and senior military officers may use spare capacity during peacetime. Since the Royal Air Force ceased providing long range VIP transport in December 2001, Royal and Ministerial long range VIP transport is undertaken by civil airline charter or scheduled flight.
	The Ministry of Defence has no plans to procure or lease aircraft specifically for long range VIP transport, but is looking at whether the service might be provided by the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft, subject to this being cost effective. We will be examining in due course how the capability for short to medium range VIP transport will be provided when existing aircraft reach the end of their service life.

War Service Records

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when Service records of officers who served in the (a) First and (b) Second World Wars will be published.

Lewis Moonie: The majority of surviving Service records for officers who served in the First World War have already been transferred to the National Archives (The Public Record Office).
	Exact details of the coverage vary according to Service, but the National Archives' website provides both details of the coverage of the material it holds and advice on requests for information from later records still with the Ministry of Defence.
	The transfer of later Service records is under discussion, and they will be processed and released in accordance with data protection principles, confidentiality and privacy requirements.

West Freugh Range

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the level of continued military use of West Freugh range in Wigtownshire.

Lewis Moonie: There is a requirement for continued military use of the West Freugh range. The currently projected workload is mainly in support of two Ministry of Defence equipment programmes, which will entail trials of BL755 cluster munitions and batch acceptance testing of the High Velocity Missile. The MOD also expects to continue to use the site in support of military training and military exercises.

HEALTH

A National Voice

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to support the work of A National Voice following the collapse of First Key.

Jacqui Smith: I was saddened to learn of the decision by the Trustees of First Key that they had no option but to cease trading with immediate effect on 6 June. I recognise the serious consequences of this development for A National Voice (ANV), which was dependent on First Key for their management support. Officials from the Department will be meeting with the former managers of First Key shortly, as a first step in establishing how the charity's previous work programme on behalf of care leavers might be managed in future—this meeting will also discuss the immediate and long-term future of ANV.
	The Government remain committed to the principle that one important aspect of safeguarding the welfare of children and promoting the participation of looked after children in their own care and in wider policy is support for an organisation led by care-experienced young people representing the voices of children in care and care leavers.

Ashford and St Peters NHS Trust

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the debts and overspending of the Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Trust.

Hazel Blears: Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals National Health Service Trust is aware of the duty it has to ensure that sound financial management is practiced and also the need to achieve a break-even position at the end of the financial year.
	The management of the trust is a matter for the local health community managing within the context of "Shifting the Balance of Power", local partnership and agreement. The underlying deficits will be resolved by the primary care trusts and the NHS trusts within their three year plans. This will be performance managed through the local development plan, which has been formulated by the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority.

BCG Vaccinations

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many schoolchildren have not received BCG vaccinations in the current school year because of a shortage of vaccine; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: No schoolchildren should have missed out on the opportunity of receiving BCG vaccination.
	There were no supplies of BCG vaccine from August to November 2002, following Evans Vaccines voluntary withdrawal of all batches of their BCG as a precautionary measure after discovering, during stability testing, that a number of batches did not comply with the requirements of their registered specifications for potency during its shelf life. This was a decision taken by the company outside of our control and was wholly unexpected.
	However, district immunisation co-ordinators were asked to arrange catch-up programmes for children in their areas who may have missed out receiving their BCG immunisation once supplies were available from 25 November 2002.

Cancer

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, for each of the cancer networks, the current average waiting time for (a) radiotherapy and (b) chemotherapy from the time of consultant referral; and if he will give comparable figures for (i) 2002, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 1997.

Hazel Blears: Information on waiting times for chemotherapy and radiotherapy are not collected centrally. However, the NHS Cancer Plan set out maximum waiting time targets for first definitive cancer treatment which could include either chemotherapy or radiotherapy. From December 2001 there is a one month maximum wait from diagnosis to first treatment for breast cancer and a one month wait from urgent general practitioner referral to first treatment for children's cancers, testicular cancer and acute leukaemia. From 2002 there is a maximum two month wait from urgent referral to treatment for breast cancer. By 2005 there will be a maximum two months from urgent referral to treatment and a maximum one-month wait from diagnosis to first treatment for all cancers.

Cancer

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many teenagers with cancer are being treated on wards intended for use by, or classified as (a) children and (b) old people (i) in England, (ii) within each health authority and (iii) within each hospital in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Hazel Blears: No statistics are available centrally which allow us to show which hospitals treat teenager cancer patients alongside children and which treat them alongside older people.

Cancer

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what counselling and support services are available through the NHS for teenage cancer and transplant patients.

Hazel Blears: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently completing guidance on supportive care for people with cancer. This guidance will inform local decisions on what support services are given to teenage cancer patients and will be published in February 2004. Currently, paediatric units will usually provide counselling and support services for teenage cancer patients, based on local need.
	All national health service organ transplant units are expected to provide counselling and support services for teenage transplant recipients. This ranges from educational support and general preparation for transplantation to post operative care.

Cancer

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to support and promote teenage cancer units; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Primary care trusts are responsible for providing local national health service services, based on the needs and priorities of the local population. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently preparing service guidance for the NHS in England and Wales on child and adolescent cancers. This guidance is due to be published in February 2005 and will form the basis for the treatment of teenage cancer patients in the NHS.
	The NHS is working with the Teenage Cancer Trust throughout the United Kingdom in developing specialist units for teenagers with cancer. We are also developing the children's national service framework, which will put both children and teenagers at the centre of their health and social care, building services around their needs.

Cancer

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific health care strategies he has set for the detection and treatment of (a) prostate, (b) lung, (c) bowel and (d) testicular cancer in men; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: We are taking action in several areas to improve the detection and treatment of prostate, lung, bowel and testicular cancer:
	The national health service prostate cancer programme sets out the Government's approach to improving prostate cancer services including the publication of the prostate cancer risk management programme in July 2001 and a commitment to introducing a prostate cancer screening programme if, and when, screening and treatment techniques have developed sufficiently.
	There has been targeted investment in lung cancer services. An additional £10 million was made available from 1999 to improve lung cancer services. This money is being used to help improve access to services, enhance the quality of treatment and to bring down waiting times for treatment for lung cancer. From 2002–03, this money was placed in baseline allocations.
	The national cancer director launched the NHS bowel cancer programme on 4 February 2003. This programme will translate into action the Government's commitment to continue to improve services for bowel cancer patients and to introduce a national screening programme for bowel cancer.
	There are already specialist NHS services for the management of men with testicular cancer and outcomes are generally good with the vast majority of patients being cured. Men should be aware of any unusual changes in their testicles and consult doctors early in order to ensure the maximum chance of a cure. That is why we have collaborated with Cancer Research UK in the production of a testicular self-awareness leaflet "Testicular Cancer: Spot The Symptoms Early", which is widely available.
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published guidance on the use of new generation chemotherapy drugs benefiting around 5,000 lung cancer patients and 7,000 bowel cancer patients each year. NICE is currently preparing guidance on the use of a new drug, Iressa, for the treatment of lung cancer.
	Last year, NICE published "Improving Outcomes Guidance" (IOG) on the organisation and delivery of services for people with urological cancers, including prostate and testicular cancer. Local NHS organisations are currently developing action plans for implementing the guidance.
	NICE is currently updating the 1997 IOG for bowel cancer services. The updated guidance is due to be published later this summer.
	IOG for lung cancer services was published in 1998. NICE is now developing clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of lung cancer, which are due to be published in March 2004.
	We are determined to improve cancer services for all patients, including those with prostate, lung, bowel and testicular cancers. That is why the Cancer Plan is being backed by the biggest ever increase in funding for cancer services. Compared to 2000–01, there will be an additional £570 million a year in 2003–04.

Cancer

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase awareness of cancer in men; and what specific age-groups of men are being targeted by his Department.

Hazel Blears: We have increased the visibility of health messages highlighting to smokers the risks of smoking, including lung cancer. New Regulations require tobacco products to carry larger, starker health warnings on both front and back of the packet. The dangers of second hand smoke are also highlighted in some of the new warnings.
	NHS smoking cessation services are well established across England. The services are available to help smokers who want to stop, with a particular emphasis on helping smokers from manual socio-economic groups. The services provide counselling and support to smokers in a variety of settings in primary or secondary care, and in the community, to complement the provision of smoking cessation aids such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and Zyban.
	Regarding prostate cancer, we want men to know what their prostate gland is, what it does and what can go wrong with it, but we need to raise awareness in a responsible way. The Department has funded three projects in this area:
	Section 64 grant to the Prostate Cancer Charity to increase further information about prostate cancer
	Section 64 grant to the Prostate Cancer Charity to improve awareness of the risks and symptoms of prostate cancer in African and Afro-Caribbean men in Britain
	The Database of Individual Patient Experiences in prostate cancer
	As part of the prostate cancer risk management programme (PCRMP), evidence-based primary care resource packs were sent to all general practitioners in England in September 2002, to aid them in counselling men who are worried about prostate cancer, ensuring the men make an informed choice about whether or not to have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. Future public awareness programmes are a key term of reference for the newly established prostate cancer advisory group, chaired by the national cancer director. The content and target audience for these programmes will be an important consideration.
	The national health service bowel cancer programme was launched in February, and has three key strands: developing a national screening programme, improving services for people with symptoms, and improving treatment. Underpinning the programme will be an expansion of the workforce and an information strategy for both the public and professionals. The national cancer director is now taking this work forward.
	Testicular cancer is almost always curable if found early. The disease responds well to treatment, even if it has spread to other parts of the body. More than nine out of 10 patients are cured. Men should be aware of any unusual changes in their testicles and consult doctors early in order to ensure the maximum chance of a cure. That is why we have collaborated with Cancer Research UK in the production of a testicular self-awareness leaflet "Testicular Cancer: Spot The Symptoms Early", which is widely available.
	These different ways of raising awareness of cancer in men are aimed at the age ranges affected by these cancers. Therefore the testicular cancer leaflet is aimed at younger men, prostate and bowel cancer information is generally aimed at older men, while the smoking policies to combat lung cancer, among other diseases, is aimed at all smokers.

Cancer

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many cancer care spell delays were recorded in (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each of the last six years;
	(2)  how he defines a cancer care spell delay.

Hazel Blears: Information is not collected centrally on cancer care spell delays. A cancer care spell delay is defined as a delay in either an out-patient appointment or treatment for suspected cancer after a referral has been received. A cancer care spell delay should be recorded locally for each delay. Information on cancer care spell delays will be used locally for performance management of cancer services.

Cardiac Services

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to assess the extent to which NICE's recommendations on implantable cardioverter defibrillators have been implemented. [R]

Hazel Blears: The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) have agreed a methodology for CHI to incorporate the monitoring of NICE guidance in its clinical governance reviews. This is to ensure that national health service trusts have mechanisms in place to implement and comply with NICE guidance.

Children's Hospices

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will issue guidance to clarify how children's hospices are eligible to apply for grants under the local council administered carer's special grant and the qualified projects programme;
	(2)  how many children's hospices have applied for (a) the carer's special grant and (b) the qualified projects programme administered by local councils; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many children's hospices received no Government funding in the last year; and if he will list them;
	(4)  what advice and guidance his Department gives to primary care trusts on the levels of Government funding that should be made available to (a) adult and (b) children's hospices;
	(5)  how many beds were available in children's hospices in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(6)  what was the average percentage of public funds, excluding lottery funds, given towards total running costs for (a) all adult hospices, (b) all children's hospices and (c) Little Havens Children's Hospice in Castle Point in the latest year for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: Guidance on eligibility for accessing the quality protects (QP) programme funding has been issued and is available on the Department's website at http://www.doh.gov.uk/qualityprotects/workpro/project 6.htm . For the Carers Grant funding, guidance is available on the Government carers website www.carers.gov.uk which explains that 20 per cent. is available for children's services.
	Disabled children are a priority area in the QP programme. From 2001–02 to 2003–04 £60 million for the children's services special grant has been earmarked for services for disabled children and their families, with £15 million in 2001–02 and 2002–03 and £30 million in 2003–04. One of the areas local authorities have been told that expenditure should be targeted on is increased provision of family support services including short term breaks.
	Last year's QP management action plans show that authorities are beginning to improve the services they provide to disabled children. More family support services are being provided, particularly home based respite care and sitting services. Many are developing proposals in collaboration with partners from other agencies and sectors, such as the national health service and voluntary sector.
	The Department of Health does not collect centrally information on children's hospice bed numbers nor do we monitor which service providers local authorities consider or use to provide short term breaks. Local councils may use other service providers than hospices (sitting services, residential homes) and they may fund opportunities for families with disabled children to go on holiday together.
	The Department does not give advice and guidance to primary care trusts on the levels of Government funding that should be made available to adult and children's hospices. Primary care trusts have a pivotal role in assessing the extent of health care needs within their catchment area and funding service provision, including adult hospice and children's hospice services. The level of funding agreed is a matter for local discussion and decision.
	A central budget of an additional £50 million per annum for adult specialist palliative care, including hospices, has been set up for the three years beginning 2003–04. This funding is specifically to meet the commitments and aims set out in the NHS Cancer Plan. The extra £50 million represents an increase of about 38 per cent. in the amount of NHS funding being put into adult specialist palliative care over 2000 levels and means that the pledge in the NHS Cancer Plan will be more than met. Allocation from this £50 million to local cancer networks will be made once network investment plans have been approved by the joint NHS/voluntary sector group, the National Partnership Group. The current NHS funding levels for adult hospices average 28 per cent. of running costs, although this varies across the country.
	I understand the Association of Children's Hospices has estimated that the contribution made by the NHS to children's hospices varies significantly between hospices but averages about 5 per cent. Little Haven children's hospice receives about 3 per cent. of its funding from the NHS.
	Children's hospices are a very distinct and emerging area of provision for children with life threatening illness. It is therefore important that hospices engage as much as possible with the NHS, in particular with primary care trusts which are responsible for commissioning services, including services for children with life threatening illnesses.
	I appreciate there may be a need for some pump priming funding to demonstrate the range and quality of care that children's hospices can provide. I am therefore pleased that the New Opportunities Fund has provided £48 million in support of palliative care projects for children in England—from which I understand the Little Haven children's hospice has received £650,000.
	The Fund is supporting existing good quality hospice services and will help to develop more. At the end of the three year New Opportunity Fund funding period we shall have in place a better strategic fit for services in support of children with life threatening illnesses, and one which will further inform service and funding considerations.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government is taking to improve facilities for people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome; and if he will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: In our response to the independent working group's report on chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) in January 2002 we endorsed their view that there should be no doubt this is a chronic illness and that health and social care professionals should recognise it as such.
	On 12 May we announced that funding of £8.5 million would be provided to develop services for people with CFS/ME. In July health organisations will be invited to bid for development funds to set up centres of expertise to develop clinical care, support clinical research and expand education and training programmes for health care professionals and to establish satellite community multidisciplinary teams. The first phase of development will commence in April 2004.
	We asked the Medical Research Council to develop a research strategy for advancing biomedical and health services research on CFS/ME.
	The MRC published their research strategy for CFS/ME on 1 May. The strategy will enable researchers and funders to develop research proposals on all aspects of this illness. It was developed by an independent research advisory group in response to a request from the Chief Medical Officer, and was informed by contributions from patients, carers, charities, researchers and clinicians via a consultation exercise in summer 2002.
	The MRC has announced two initiatives in response to the strategy. One is a notice to the research community welcoming high quality proposals across the entire spectrum of CFS/ME research. The other is a scientific meeting to discuss the potential to use existing UK resources and infrastructures to undertake epidemiological studies in this country. In May 2003 the MRC announced funding for two trials that will look at the effectiveness of various treatments for CFS/ME. The results of these trials will help patients and their doctors to choose the best treatment. These complementary trials will assess a variety of treatments and in doing so will both help address important issues for those with CFS/ME.
	The first trial known as PACE (Pacing, Activity and Cognitive behaviour therapy: a randomised Evaluation) will make the first assessment of a treatment choice popular with patients called 'Pacing'. The second trial, known as FINE, (Fatigue Intervention by Nurses Evaluation) will test two different treatments that are particularly suited to helping reach those who are too ill to attend a specialist clinic as patients will be treated by nurses in their own homes.

CJD

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the UK have died of CJD since the disease was first identified; and how many have been (a) cremated and (b) buried.

Hazel Blears: Since 1970, when comprehensive records were first kept, 1,277 people have died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in the United Kingdom. Of this total, 130 deaths have been attributed to definite or probable variant CJD, the form of the disease thought to be linked to BSE.
	The Department does not collect information on how many people with CJD have been either cremated or buried.

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children suffered from deep vein thrombosis in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Information available on the number of children who suffered from deep vein thrombosis as a primary diagnosis in each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
	
		Number of Finished Admissions started and finished within the year, primary diagnosis deep vein thrombosis in NHS hospitals in England 1997–98 to 2001–02
		
			  Deep Vein Thrombosis (I802 ICD10) Children aged 0–15 Finished Admissions 
		
		
			 1997–98 24 
			 1998–99 24 
			 1999–2000 15 
			 2000–01 43 
			 2001–02 41 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures in this table have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
	2. An admission is defined as a first period of patient care under a consultant in one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several admissions within the year.
	3. 2001–02 is the latest year for which figures are available.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health

Fluoridation

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been commissioned to investigate the change in the incidence of thyroid disease in fluoridated areas.

Hazel Blears: A review by the University of York into the fluoridation of water listed three studies in which the incidence of thyroid (goitre) disease was the outcome of interest. Two of these studies (Gedalia and Brand (1963), "The relationship of fluoride and iodine in drinking water in the occurrence of goiter, Arch Int Pharmacodyn, 142, 312–315)"; Jooste et al. (1999) "Endemic goiter in the absence of iodine deficiency in schoolchildren of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, Eur J Clin Nutr, 53(1), 8–12)" found no significant association with water fluoride level. The third (Lin et al. (1991) "The relationship of a low iodine and high fluoride environment to subclinical cretinism in Xinjiang," Xinjiang Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Research, Office of Leading Group for Endemic Disease Control of Hetian Prefectural Committee of the Communist Party of China and County Health and Endemic Prevention Station, Yutian, Xinjiang—unpublished report submitted through national health service centre for Reviews and Dissemination website) found a significant positive association between combined high fluoride/low iodine levels and goitre.
	The Department of Health asked the Medical Research Council (MRC) to suggest where it might be possible to strengthen the evidence currently available. In their report, MRC concluded that, because the 1991 study looked at combined fluoride/iodine uptakes and has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, the findings should be treated cautiously. The MRC reported in September 2002 and on their recommendation, we have commissioned a study to investigate the effect of water hardness and source of fluoride ion on bio-availability of fluoride in drinking water. The study is due for completion in autumn 2003.
	The Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Dental Officer have been asked to advise on the implications of the other MRC recommendations for Government policy.

Fluoridation

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for public consultation prior to introducing fluoride into public drinking water.

Hazel Blears: There is already a statutory requirement for local consultations on fluoridation. We have asked for advice from the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Dental Officer on research priorities and the conduct of consultations. We wish to ensure that relevant research findings are accessible to the local population, together with the views of both supporters and opponents of fluoridation, so that people may make a well-informed decision on whether or not to have their water fluoridated.

Fluoridation

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what health problems have been found to be a result of fluoridation of water supplies.

Hazel Blears: The Government commissioned an up to date review of the evidence on the relationship between fluoride and health from the national health service centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York. The report of the review was published in October 2000. The review found that the evidence showed that fluoridating water helps to reduce tooth decay. In areas of comparable social mix, dental health is much higher if the water is fluoridated.
	The review found no clear evidence of other adverse effects on general health associated with water fluoridation, other than the increased risk of dental fluorosis—mottling of the teeth, which, in its more extreme forms, will leave some people concerned about the appearance of their teeth. Nevertheless, the strength of the teeth is not affected, they are still endowed with extra resistance to decay and, where it is cosmetically unacceptable, the effect can often be removed by routine dental treatment.

Fluoridation

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2002, Official Report, column 672W, on fluoridation, what easily accessible and reliable information on fluoridation has been supplied by the Department to local communities; and what further research is being undertaken to improve the understanding of fluoridation.

Hazel Blears: We have asked for advice from the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Dental Officer on the conduct of consultations including the range and format of information to be made available in local consultations. We have also commissioned a study to investigate the effect of water hardness and source of fluoridation on bio-availability of fluoride in drinking water. The study is due for completion in autumn 2003.

Fluoridation

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether people will have their water fluoridated against their will under the Department's proposals to extend the fluoridation of water; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: There is a statutory requirement for local consultations on fluoridation. We have asked for advice from the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Dental Officer on how best to conduct consultations to ensure all views are taken into account.

Fluoridation

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to monitor the ingestion of fluoride in order to minimise the effects of toxicity.

Hazel Blears: The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) is evaluating estimates of fluoride intake. The estimates are based on analysis of samples from the 1997 Total Diet Study, a market basket study that allows the levels of food constituents in the average UK household diet to be estimated, and on information on fluoride levels in the UK public water supply. COT is an independent scientific committee which provides advice to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the Department of Health and other Government Departments and Agencies on matters concerning the toxicity of chemicals.
	The Department is funding analyses of fluoride in drinking-water samples taken as part of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) of British adults aged 19–64 years. NDNS is a joint initiative between the Department and FSA. Fieldwork for the study was undertaken in 2000–01, and also included urine samples, which have, been analysed for fluoride. These data are expected to provide further information on fluoride intake and absorption.
	The Department is considering the research recommendations, on total exposure and uptake of fluoride, from the Medical Research Council working group report "Water fluoridation and health" published in September 2002, including other potential uses of the NDNS programme.

Food Standards

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the publication of advice from the Food Standards Agency which runs counter to Government policy.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 12 June 2003
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been constituted as a non-ministerial department. Its right to publish its own advice, irrespective of the views of Government, is protected by the provisions of section 19 of the Food Standards Act 1999. There has been no occasion when Ministers have prevented the FSA from publishing its advice or have altered the FSA's advice before publication. The FSA's board puts its open approach into practice by meeting, and discussing policy issues, in public.

Food Standards

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support the Food Standards Agency is offering to those involved in setting up local food chains or food links.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 12 June 2003
	Support for the promotion of locally produced food is not the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency (FSA). However, the FSA is considering producing guidelines on the use of the term 'local' in food marketing.
	The FSA is keen to promote access to safe and nutritious food at the local level. It is engaged with Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services and the Local Government Association in the 'Food: the local vision' initiative to examine how local authorities can develop effective partnerships to promote and co-ordinate food and nutrition related action locally and develop good practice guidelines.

Food Standards

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prosecutions have been initiated by the Food Standards Agency in each year since its establishment.

Hazel Blears: Information on the number of prosecutions initiated by the Food Standards Agency in each year since its establishment is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year Number of prosecutions 
		
		
			 2000–01 9 
			 2001–02 12 
			 2002–03 13 
		
	
	A further 14 cases are currently scheduled for court, while action against another 16 companies is currently being taken forward by prosecutors.

Medical Technologies

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients have received a drug eluting stent since April 2002.

Hazel Blears: The Department does not currently collect data relating to the number of national health service patients who have received drug eluting stents.

Medical Technologies

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients have received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator since April 2002.

Hazel Blears: The latest available figures, from the national pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator database, collected by the British pacing and electriophysiology group, report that 26,151 pacemakers were implanted in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2001.

Men's Health

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase the accessibility of health advice and treatment for men.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 12 June 2003
	It is important that men are encouraged to take their health needs seriously and to make full use of the information and treatment services offered by the national health service. Men can benefit from the advice and access to treatment that is available to the whole population. The Department, however, is seeking to make health advice and treatment available to address men's specific needs through a variety of means including the effective use of modern technologies, innovative approaches and more flexible services.
	Telephone helplines and websites are playing an increasing role in providing information and advice to men. New services such as NHS walk in centres have contributed to improvements in the accessibility of advice and treatment for men. We run promotion campaigns, such as the Sex Lottery, which raises awareness of sexually transmitted diseases and includes material that targets young men in particular.
	We also work in collaboration with other organisations such as Cancer Research UK with whom we have produced a self awareness leaflet on testicular cancer.
	The Department works closely with Men's Health Forum, the leading organisation in this field, which has an active information and publications service. We are currently helping to fund the core activities of the Forum and we also fund it to undertake specific projects on men's health.
	For the future we are undertaking research to inform policy development on access to advice and treatment for men.

Mumps Vaccine

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many doses of mumps vaccine are allowed into the UK each day;
	(2)  how many doses of the mumps vaccine are held in the UK.

Hazel Blears: Single mumps vaccines being prescribed and administered, as part of single measles, mumps and rubella vaccination programmes are unlicensed imported medicines. The number of doses of mumps vaccines allowed into the United Kingdom varies according to the number of notifications submitted per day by importers of unlicensed medicines, who are licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Every importer must notify the MHRA on each occasion they intend importing an unlicensed medicine and there is a legal restriction on the maximum quantity they may import per notification (a maximum of 25 single administrations). This applies to all imported unlicensed medicines. The MHRA received an average of 172 notifications to import unlicensed mumps vaccines per month during the first quarter of 2003. This is the number of notifications submitted to the MHRA for importation and does not necessarily relate to the number of doses actually imported. Consequently the MHRA does not have data on the actual number of doses imported or on the stocks held in the UK.

Obesity

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he has to promote the prevention of obesity; and how much funding has been made available for this purpose.

Hazel Blears: The Government are committed to tackling the rising trend in obesity. The Department of Health is working with other Government Departments and a range of other partners at national, regional and local levels, on programmes to improve diet and increase physical activity levels.
	Action to improve diet includes the Food in Schools Programme, the Five-A-Day programme to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and work with industry to address the overall balance of diet including fat, sugar and salt, working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The Department of Health, Sport England and the Countryside Agency are funding local exercise action pilots (LEAP), based in the nine English regions. The Department of Health is also working with other Government Departments, such as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department for Transport (DfT), to establish a sport and physical activity board (SPAB) to begin raising levels of mass participation for young people and adults, particularly women and the elderly.
	Significant funding is also being provided to support the physical education (PE) and school sport and club links programme, which will implement the joint DfES/DCMS public service agreement target to provide two hours of high-quality PE and school sport to 70 per cent. of pupils by 2006. The New Opportunities Fund are also funding improvements to sports facilities in schools.
	The Food and Health Action Plan will also pull together all the issues that influence what we eat and will address healthy eating at all stages of the life course. The plan will build on comprehensive on-going programmes of work already underway across Government on healthy eating.
	The delivery of these policies is through a number of resources, including the Department of Health, DCMS, DfES, DfT, FSA, the New Opportunities Fund, the national health service and other stakeholders, and it is not possible to identify the specific funding being used to achieve these goals.

Ooplasmic Transfer

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) ooplasmic transfer and (b) oocyte nucleus transfer have been licensed in the United Kingdom by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Hazel Blears: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has not issued any licenses for these procedures.

Poisonous Plants

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accidents there were in each year since 1997 involving children coming into contact with poisonous plants in the countryside.

Hazel Blears: The Department of Health does not collect information on the number of accidents involving children coming into contact with poisonous plants in the countryside.
	The Department collects information on accidental injuries leading to hospital admission as an in-patient in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) system. Children admitted to hospital after coming into contact with poisonous plants in the countryside are included in HES; however, the codes used in HES to record cause of injury cannot identify accidents involving contact with poisonous plants as a separate group.

Prostate Cancer

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of research into (a) the causes and (b) the treatment of prostate cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The main Government agency for research into the causes of and treatments of disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its funding from the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
	The MRC has co-funded two prostate cancer collaboratives with the Department of Health and Cancer Research UK (CRUK). The total funding from all partners is approximately £6 million over five years. These are the ICR Prostate Cancer Collaborative, directed by Colin Cooper and the Northern Prostate Cancer Consortium, directed by David Neal.
	In March 2000, we announced £1 million additional new funding for urgent research studies into prostate cancer as a mark of its concern over this disease. The NHS Plan went further by announcing that the Government would increase by £1 million the resources devoted to prostate cancer for each of the next three years. This means that, quality permitting, Department of Health direct funding for prostate cancer research will be:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2000–01 1,200,000 
			 2001–02 2,200,000 
			 2002–03 3,200,000 
			 2003–04 4,200,000 
		
	
	This is a twenty-fold increase compared with 1999–2000. Funding in previous years was:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 200,000 
			 1996–97 98,000 
		
	
	Examples of research the Department is funding are:
	A review of new and emerging treatments, for example, brachytherapy and cryotherapy for prostate cancer.
	Prostate Cancer Studentships, funded jointly with the MRC.

Research Expenditure

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public money was spent on research into (a) cystic fibrosis and (b) gene therapy in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: The main Government agency for research into the causes of and treatments for disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its funding from the Department for Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. Since 1997–98 MRC expenditure on cystic fibrosis has been as follows:
	
		Expenditure on Cystic Fibrosis -- £ millions
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 1997–98 1.8 
			 1998–99 1.9 
			 1999–2000 1.8 
			 2000–01 1.5 
			 2001–02 1.25 
		
	
	The Department of Health funds the national health service research and development programme, which aims to identify NHS needs for research and to commission research to meet those needs. Commissioning is undertaken through national programmes of research such as the health technology assessment (HTA) programme. There have been two recent projects on cystic fibrosis, "Information needs for health planning; screening for cystic fibrosis" and "A comparative study of hypertonic saline, daily and alternate day rhDNase in cystic fibrosis". The cost of these projects totalled £177,000.

Shepperton Health Centre

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the plans of North Surrey Primary Care Trust and the doctors who use the centre to redevelop the Shepperton Health Centre.

Hazel Blears: North Surrey Primary Care Trust (PCT) is committed to providing local and accessible healthcare to all its residents. Shepperton Health Centre has been identified as one of the PCTs top priorities for redevelopment and will be reviewed as part of the new estates strategy being prepared.
	The review will be taken with full consultation with local general practitioners and where appropriate Surrey county council.

Smoking

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to tackle attitudes to smoking among different ethnic groups in the UK.

Hazel Blears: The Department of Health has been actively tackling attitudes to smoking among different ethnic groups in the United Kingdom and offers support through its national health service Asian tobacco helpline. This helpline provides a confidential advice service in mother-tongue languages and English, specifically tailored to the needs of the South Asian communities. It provides advice and support on giving up tobacco whether as cigarettes, bidi, the hookah, chewing tobacco or tobacco in paan. Leaflets and other materials in all South Asian languages support the helpline. A national training programme will shortly be available to local cessation workers to help ethnic groups.
	Smoking cessation services and local tobacco control alliances areas with significant ethnic communities are encouraged to provide publicity material and advice in appropriate languages.

Specialist Wards

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are to provide specialist wards, treatments and guidance for teenage patients being treated within the NHS.

Hazel Blears: The Department of Health and the Welsh Assembly Government have asked the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to prepare service guidance for the national health service in England and Wales on cancers affecting children and adolescents. This guidance will form the basis for the local planning of teenage cancer services in the NHS.
	As well as preparing service guidance for child and adolescent cancers, we are also developing the children's national service framework, which will put both children and teenagers at the centre of their health and social care, building services around their needs.

Waste Processing (Health Effects)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to commission research into links between heart defects and neural tube defects and living near incineration plants; and if he will make a statement on research he has studied concerning childhood disabilities and abnormalities and plants processing industrial waste.

Hazel Blears: The Department is currently participating in four projects, which include an assessment of the relationship between waste disposal, including incineration, and health. These are:
	"Review of environmental and health impacts of waste management and disposal", which is being led by the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs.
	"Human health related review of incineration and combustion techniques", which is being led by the Environment Agency.
	"Assessment of health impacts: landfill directive and UK Government waste strategy", which is being led by the Environment Agency.
	"Understanding the possible effects on human health by incineration of municipal waste", which is being led by the Department of Health and funded by the Environment Agency.
	Research concerning childhood disabilities and abnormalities and plants processing industrial waste will be considered in these reviews, all of which will be published in due course.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Eco-schools

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many eco-schools there have been in each local education authority area in England in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The information requested is not collected by DfES but by ENCAMS who run the Eco-Schools scheme. Currently, 4,404 schools are registered with the scheme but due to inconstant information sent by the schools when registering, ENCAMS are unable to give figures on how many Eco-Schools there are in each local education authority. To calculate the number of schools for each local education authority from the information available would be disproportionately costly.
	Information on Eco-Schools can be found at www.eco-schools.org.uk.

Education Support Staff

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will extend school holiday pay and jobseeker's allowance to education support staff;
	(2)  what plans he has to limit the use of term-time only contracts for education support staff; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Pay and conditions of service for education support staff are determined locally, in the light of local needs and circumstances.
	Jobseeker's Allowance is an issue for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Jobseeker's Allowance is intended to support those who are out of work and looking for a job. Our view is that the most appropriate form of help for low-paid term-time workers is through in-work support. The introduction of the working tax credit from April will improve and extend the provision of in-work support, and there are specific provisions to ensure that term-time workers' pattern of work is taken into account for the working tax credit.

Music

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the standard of school music; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has to increase the availability of music tuition for school pupils; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the strategy for school music;
	(4)  what plans he has to increase the support for school music.

David Miliband: This Department is strongly committed to music education. According to the recent Ofsted report (published November 2002), schools music has improved significantly in one-third of primary schools and in two-fifths of secondary schools since the last inspection. There has been a steady improvement in pupils' achievement across all four Key Stages. In its recent monitoring report, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority also found that pupils are experiencing a greater enjoyment of music lessons than previously indicated, and noted a dramatic increase in the take up of AS and A Level music, particularly among boys.
	We are also committed to providing opportunities for young people to sing and play musical instruments. Music making is a key part of the National Curriculum for music and, outside of the classroom, LEA Music Services, supported by the Music Standards Fund, are currently providing nearly half a million pupils with additional, specialist tuition in a range of traditions and styles. Since 1999, more than a million music making opportunities have been provided by Youth Music (funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sports), and for the exceptionally talented, there is on-going provision through the Government's Music and Dance Scheme and through the 10 National Youth Music Organisations, which are supported by the Department for Education and Skills.
	To widen opportunities still further, we have pledged, over time, to offer all primary school pupils who want to do so the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, and we are currently piloting 12 models of delivering this pledge across the country. An evaluation of the models will be produced in December 2003.
	I have opened discussions with a range of key stakeholders from the music world to explore how our combined resources might be deployed more coherently in our future planning to maximise their impact.
	To support schools music further, we are:
	establishing a new category of specialist school—the music college—from 2004;
	commissioning a suite of new units for the Music Schemes of Work, looking at the integration of classroom music with specialist instrumental tuition; and
	to support recruitment into music education, commissioning a mapping document that will set out all the various routes into becoming a music teacher—in or out of school—and the skills and qualifications needed for each.

Official Spelling

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he has taken to ensure that schools teach the English spelling of words where it differs from the US version; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The National Curriculum Handbook for Teachers contains a statement on "Use of Language across the Curriculum" which says that:
	"Pupils should be taught in all subjects to express themselves correctly and appropriately and to read accurately and with understanding. Since standard English, spoken and written, is the predominant language in which knowledge and skills are taught and learned, pupils should be taught to recognise and use standard English.
	In writing, pupils should be taught to use correct spelling and punctuation and follow grammatical conventions".
	We expect teachers to adopt this approach.

Ofsted Inspectors

Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many complaints about individual inspectors have been received by Ofsted since 2000; and how many inspectors have been deregistered as a result of investigations into those complaints.

David Miliband: This is a matter for the Ofsted and David Bell, the HM Chief Inspector will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

School Funding

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the level of funds held in school balances; and if he will list this, broken down by local education authority.

David Miliband: holding answer 12 June 2003
	The following table indicates, for each local education authority, the balances carried forward by maintained schools in England at the end of the financial year 2001–02. The figures are taken from the outturn statements for that year produced by local education authorities under section 52 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. These figures should not, therefore, be taken as necessarily being representative either of the amounts being carried over at the end of 2002–03 or of the current position. Information on balances carried forward at the end of 2002–03 is not yet available because the deadline for the production of LEAs' outturn statements for that financial year is not until 10 October 2003, and it would be premature at this stage to attempt an estimate.
	
		Balances carried forward by maintained schools at end of financial year 2001–02 -- £
		
			 Name Balances  
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 4,067,500 
			 Barnet 6,187,606 
			 Barnsley 6,513,693 
			 Bath and NE Somerset 3,881,082 
			 Bedfordshire 8,078,138 
			 Bexley 3,396,173 
			 Birmingham 32,716,066 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 5,304,593 
			 Blackpool 3,424,694 
			 Bolton 5,158,449 
			 Bournemouth 3,921,711 
			 Bracknell Forest 1,238,194 
			 Bradford 11,801,146 
			 Brent 3,152,281 
			 Brighton and Hove(7) 3,280,485 
			 Bristol, City of 4,125,008 
			 Bromley 5,482,860 
			 Buckinghamshire 6,073,043 
			 Bury 2,113,007 
			 Calderdale 4,612,605 
			 Cambridgeshire 10,318,395 
			 Camden 6,206,029 
			 Cheshire 15,453,372 
			 City of London 27,398 
			 Cornwall 15,826,332 
			 Coventry 7,812,009 
			 Croydon 11,218,303 
			 Cumbria 8,868,669 
			 Darlington 1,243,908 
			 Derby 5,052,453 
			 Derbyshire 13,628,675 
			 Devon 8,890,468 
			 Doncaster 8,996,732 
			 Dorset 6,492,746 
			 Dudley 8,748,810 
			 Durham 13,958,495 
			 Baling 6,028,172 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 8,531,194 
			 East Sussex 6,253,009 
			 Enfield 8,124,116 
			 Essex(7) 37,509,075 
			 Gateshead 4,989,702 
			 Gloucestershire 11,405,925 
			 Greenwich 3,814,303 
			 Hackney 2,069,758 
			 Halton 3,695,867 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham(7) 3,075,931 
			 Hampshire 29,585,555 
			 Haringey 2,549,177 
			 Harrow 4,551,156 
			 Hartlepool 2,452,725 
			 Havering 5,856,044 
			 Herefordshire 3,474,183 
			 Hertfordshire 28,542,675 
			 Hillingdon 5,344,167 
			 Hounslow 6,722,652 
			 Isle of Wight 1,791,732 
			 Isles of Scilly 176,789 
			 Islington 5,962,389 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2,708,112 
			 Kent 29,784,014 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 4,267,027 
			 Kingston upon Thames 3,461,609 
			 Kirklees 5,225,772 
			 Knowsley 1,974,362 
			 Lambeth 4,886,874 
			 Lancashire 40,876,279 
			 Leeds 10,506,850 
			 Leicester 7,831,462 
			 Leicestershire 5,205,018 
			 Lewisham 2,868,102 
			 Lincolnshire 9,774,928 
			 Liverpool 17,545,506 
			 Luton 5,338,063 
			 Manchester 15,705,601 
			 Medway 7,172,815 
			 Merton 4,991,839 
			 Middlesbrough 4,188,678 
			 Milton Keynes 6,076,750 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 6,829,253 
			 Newham 5,027,691 
			 Norfolk 16,721,828 
			 North East Lincolnshire 4,135,223 
			 North Lincolnshire 3,592,146 
			 North Somerset 2,626,826 
			 North Tyneside 1,695,221 
			 North Yorkshire 18,358,924 
			 Northamptonshire 18,483,397 
			 Northumberland 5,030,243 
			 Nottingham 6,574,242 
			 Nottinghamshire 14,135,105 
			 Oldham 6,082,248 
			 Oxfordshire 11,612,527 
			 Peterborough 5,387,880 
			 Plymouth 5,850,136 
			 Poole 4,483,934 
			 Portsmouth 4,108,913 
			 Reading 1,881,661 
			 Redbridge 7,240,831 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 4,066,994 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,485,233 
			 Rochdale 3,130,795 
			 Rotherham 2,857,044 
			 Rutland 654,276 
			 Salford 2,704,299 
			 Sandwell(7) 9,153,454 
			 Sefton 10,498,372 
			 Sheffield 5,381,621 
			 Shropshire 3,135,223 
			 Slough 3,195,089 
			 Solihull 3,774,813 
			 Somerset 11,784,110 
			 South Gloucestershire 4,728,949 
			 South Tyneside 4,044,686 
			 Southampton 3,341,094 
			 Southend-on-Sea 6,202,213 
			 Southwark 5,336,153 
			 St. Helens 4,844,669 
			 Staffordshire(7) 15,950,430 
			 Stockport 4,655,358 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 3,931,321 
			 Stoke-on-Trent(7) 6,943,772 
			 Suffolk 17,799,002 
			 Sunderland 6,643,454 
			 Surrey 20,403,112 
			 Sutton 3,395,341 
			 Swindon 6,204,865 
			 Tameslde 5,661,504 
			 Telford and Wrekin 2,655,872 
			 Thurrock 5,103,666 
			 Torbay 2,133,113 
			 Tower Hamlets 7,825,858 
			 Trafford(7) 6,352,453 
			 Wakefield 3,718,545 
			 Walsall 8,186,648 
			 Waltham Forest 5,725,045 
			 Wandsworth 5,488,978 
			 Warrington 4,263,356 
			 Warwickshire 7,941,072 
			 West Berkshire 3,394,340 
			 West Sussex 6,847,044 
			 Westminster 1,128,111 
			 Wigan 5,399,480 
			 Wiltshire 8,613,870 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 2,036,292 
			 Wirral 4,698,670 
			 Wokingham 2,551,820 
			 Wolverhampton 5,158,927 
			 Worcestershire 11,595,511 
			 York 4,565,290 
			 Total(7) 1,098,316,518 
		
	
	(7) These figures, and hence the national total, are provisional.
	Note:
	The figures, which represent surpluses net of deficits, are taken from Table 2 of the outturn statements for 2001–02 produced by local education authorities under section 52 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

Teacher Training

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applicants there were for (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate secondary teacher training courses, (i) in total and (ii) broken down by subject, in each year since 1991.

David Miliband: The tables show, the number of applications to undergraduate and postgraduate secondary teacher training courses in England and Wales that were processed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service and the Graduate Teacher Training Registry respectively. Some applications are made independently of these bodies. Since 2001/02 it has also been possible to report the number of applications for England only as shown in the tables.
	The number of postgraduate applications reflects the number of applicants to courses. Undergraduate applicants are allowed to make up to six applications per person. Data on applications for undergraduate teacher training courses for years before 1996/97 are not available.
	
		Table 1: The number of applications for undergraduate to secondary teacher training courses
		
			  England and Wales England only 
			 Undergraduate 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2001/02 2002/03 
		
		
			 Secondary(8)  
			 Maths 750 589 389 361 259 251 217 250 213 
			 English and Drama 765 436 663 126 114 79 109 79 109 
			 All Science 640 517 405 342 311 152 128 151 127 
			 All Modern Languages 184 109 86 54 64 37 23 23 7 
			 All Technology(9) 1,677 1,492 1,193 1,063 961 989 764 1,996 2,481 
			 History 75 — — — — — — — — 
			 Geography 41 29 37 27 20 18 14 18 14 
			 PE 9,132 7,843 7,300 5,516 4,707 3,869 2,241 3,869 2,241 
			 Art 70 63 76 118 79 4 76 4 - 
			 Music 351 78 75 51 60 38 28 33 17 
			 RE 142 77 57 19 11 11 — 11 — 
			 Other(10) 2,433 2,229 1,434 1,183 861 573 850 573 850 
			 Total secondary 16,260 13,462 11,715 8,860 7,447 6,021 4,450 7,007 6,059 
		
	
	(8) Before 1996/97, from available data, it is not possible to distinguish applications to secondary course
	(9) Technology includes Design and Technology, Business Studies, Information Technology and Home Economics
	(10) Other includes Social Science, Classics, EconomicsSource:
	UCAS
	
		Table 2: The number of applications for postgraduate secondary teacher training courses
		
			  England and Wales 
			 Postgraduate 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 
		
		
			 Secondary
			 Maths 1,942 2,470 2,613 2,374 2,186 1,873 1,579 
			 English and Drama 2,240 2,806 3,000 2,964 3,158 3,197 3,104 
			 All Science 3,294 3,977 4,186 4,205 4,020 3,698 3,265 
			 All Modern Languages 2,295 2,599 2,750 2,830 2,706 2,680 2,561 
			 All Technology 1,352 1,834 2,079 1,840 2,056 1,549 1,605 
			 History 1,172 1,661 1,858 1,829 1,984 2,017 1,901 
			 Geography 741 965 1,168 1,178 1,280 1,297 1,188 
			 PE4 532 663 920 992 1,027 1,145 1,372 
			 Art 260 380 425 510 352 939 1,503 
			 Music 448 519 593 632 646 594 549 
			 RE 435 525 532 612 741 845 826 
			 Other 764 843 852 747 840 820 621 
			 Total secondary 15,475 19,242 20,976 20,713 20,996 20,654 20,074 
		
	
	
		Table 2: The number of applications for postgraduate secondary teacher training courses
		
			  England and Wales England only 
			 Postgraduate 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2001/02 2002/03 
		
		
			 Secondary
			 Maths 1,288 1,690 1,776 2,031 2,381 1,917 2,249 
			 English and Drama 3,141 3,007 3,235 3,983 4,566 3,768 4,346 
			 All Science 2,878 3,450 3,728 4,093 4,079 3,822 3,823 
			 All Modern Languages 2,442 2,307 2,763 2,761 2,687 2,562 2,506 
			 All Technology 1,595 1,619 1,996 2,665 3,457 2,481 3,275 
			 History 1,793 1,671 1,745 2,067 2,014 1,926 1,893 
			 Geography 1,064 1,226 1,213 1,361 1,341 1,285 1,264 
			 PE 1,406 1,398 1,522 1,782 2,006 1,555 1,746 
			 Art 1,406 1,277 1,475 1,744 1,867 1,633 1,731 
			 Music 544 634 634 713 704 676 666 
			 RE 837 806 806 816 754 764 709 
			 Other 510 577 573 850 1,013 850 1,013 
			 Total secondary 18,904 19,662 21,466 24,866 26,869 23,239 25,221 
		
	
	Note:
	1. Technology includes Business Studies, Information Technology, Design and Technology, and Home Economics
	2. Other includes Social Studies, Economics, Classics and Citizenship from 2001/02
	3. Modern Languages includes TEFL in 1992/93 and Community Langs until 1994/95
	4. PE includes Outdoor Activities until 1996/97
	Source:
	GTTR

Teacher Training

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students started (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate primary teacher training courses in each year since 1991.

David Miliband: The following table shows the number of students who started postgraduate and undergraduate primary teacher training courses in each year since 1991.
	
		
			  Postgraduate Undergraduate Total 
		
		
			 1991/92 5,012 9,765 14,777 
			 1992/93 5,712 10,946 16,658 
			 1993/94 5,570 10,205 15,775 
			 1994/95 5,074 8,669 13,743 
			 1995/96 5,145 8,458 13,603 
			 1996/97 4,846 7,619 12,465 
			 1997/98 4,677 7,072 11,749 
			 1998/99 5,121 6,707 11,828 
			 1999/00 5,452 6,644 12,096 
			 2000/01 6,592 6,581 13,173 
			 2001/02 6,749 6,386 13,135 
			 2002/03 7,989 6,491 14,480 
		
	
	Notes:
	Postgraduate figures for 2001/02 and 2002/03 include entrants to the Fast Track scheme.
	Figures above do not include trainees recruited to employment based routes.
	Source
	DFE Recruitment Survey, 1990/91 to 1993/94; HESES 1994/95; TTA Survey of ITT Providers 1995/96 to 2000/01; TTA ITT Trainee Numbers Census 2001/02
	In addition to the entrants detailed above, there has been an increasing number of starters on employment based teacher training routes. In 2001–02 there were nearly 2, 000 starters on employment based primary teacher training routes.

Teachers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many qualified entrants to full-time or part-time service there were in the maintained nursery/primary and secondary sector in England in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) newly qualified entrants, (b) deferred entrants, (c) re-entrants and (d) subject in the case of secondary school teachers.

David Miliband: The tables show qualified entrants to full-time or part-time regular service in the maintained nursery/primary or secondary sector in England.
	The tables showing entrants to the secondary phase show the main subjects of teacher training. A teacher can appear under two different subject rows, reflecting the fact that some teachers qualify in more than one subject. The figures shown in the first table are not based on subject and therefore exclude any double counting. Teachers with 'other' subjects or 'subjects not known' are included in the secondary totals but not shown separately.
	Around 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. of part-timers may not be included.
	
		Full-time and part-time entrants in maintained primary schools in England
		
			 Financial year of entry New entrants to teaching(11) New to maintained sector(12) Returner to maintained sector(13) Total(14) 
		
		
			 Nursery/Primary 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 8,280 4,860 6,570 19,710 
			 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 9,470 4,080 4,850 18,390 
			 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 8,770 3,940 5,290 18,000 
			 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 9,360 4,120 5,200 18,680 
			  
			 Secondary 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 8,630 4,930 5,790 19,340 
			 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 8,770 4,280 4,470 17,530 
			 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 8,730 3,900 4,630 17,260 
			 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 9,330 3,940 4,670 17,940 
		
	
	
		Full-time and part-time entrants in maintained secondary schools in England -- Secondary entrants 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998
		
			  New entrants to teaching(11) New to maintained sector(12) Returner to maintained sector(13) Total(14) 
		
		
			 Maths 1,040 290 190 1,530 
			 English 1,790 310 270 2,370 
			 Science 1,580 420 270 2,260 
			 MFL 1,060 220 210 1,490 
			 Technology 1,020 370 190 1,580 
			 History 630 130 100 860 
			 Geography 600 110 90 800 
			 Art 470 190 80 740 
			 Music 330 80 70 480 
			 RE 420 60 60 530 
			 PE 940 220 170 1,330 
			 Total 10,510 4,240 4,900 19,650 
		
	
	
		Secondary entrants 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999
		
			  New entrants to teaching(11) New to maintained sector(12) Returner to maintained sector(13) Total(14) 
		
		
			 Maths 880 260 230 1,360 
			 English 1,830 350 340 2,520 
			 Science 1,410 400 300 2,110 
			 MFL 1,050 250 210 1,510 
			 Technology 850 300 200 1,350 
			 History 620 160 120 890 
			 Geography 530 150 100 770 
			 Art 430 190 90 700 
			 Music 290 90 80 460 
			 RE 410 80 70 560 
			 PE 870 270 180 1,320 
			 Total 9,730 4,220 4,890 18,840 
		
	
	
		Secondary entrants 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000
		
			  New entrants to teaching(11) New to maintained sector(12) Returner to maintained sector(13) Total(14) 
		
		
			 Maths 790 260 220 1,280 
			 English 1,830 400 360 2,590 
			 Science 1,400 450 360 2,210 
			 MFL 1,000 260 250 1,510 
			 Technology 870 340 220 1,420 
			 History 600 230 140 970 
			 Geography 510 200 100 820 
			 Art 450 200 100 760 
			 Music 340 80 100 520 
			 RE 410 110 70 590 
			 PE 930 340 210 1,480 
			 Total 9,740 4,640 4,730 19,110 
		
	
	
		Secondary entrants 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001
		
			  New entrants to teaching(11) New to maintained sector(12) Returner to maintained sector(13) Total(14) 
		
		
			 Maths 830 250 280 1,350 
			 English 1,740 430 480 2,650 
			 Science 1,430 460 470 2,360 
			 MFL 890 300 350 1,540 
			 Technology 780 350 290 1,420 
			 History 610 230 150 990 
			 Geography 570 170 140 890 
			 Art 470 260 140 870 
			 Music 330 130 100 560 
			 RE 370 110 100 590 
			 PE 930 420 240 1,600 
			 Total 9,470 5,310 6,120 20,910 
		
	
	(11) Teacher qualified in the calendar year prior to the end of the financial year shown.
	(12) Teacher has no known service in the English maintained sector, and qualified before the calendar year prior to the end of the financial year shown.
	(13) Teacher was not in service at the beginning of the financial year shown but has previous service, most recently in the English maintained school sector.
	(14) Does not include those moving from full-time to part time or part-time to full-time in the English maintained sector.

Teachers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many newly qualified teachers employed in the (a) primary and (b) secondary sector have left their posts within one financial year of qualifying, broken down by subject in the case of secondary school teachers, since 1997.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 10 March 2003, Official Report, column 286W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) the international community and (b) the Burmese military regime about (i) implementing the 1992 democratic election result and (ii) achieving good governance.

Mike O'Brien: We regularly take the opportunity of our bilateral and multilateral contacts with the international community to discuss democracy and good governance in Burma. We, and other UN partners co-sponsored the recent UNCHR resolution on Burma on 16 April 2003. We also remain in close contact with the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail. We welcome that he was able to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi on his recent visit to Burma and that she was unharmed. However, we still remain deeply concerned over the situation in Burma and call for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the NLD.
	The UK has made numerous representations to the Burmese Authorities. Most recently, on 2 June 2003, my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Bill Rammell) called in the Burmese Ambassador to express the British Government's deep concern over recent events in Burma. On 6 June 2003, I spoke to the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister to reiterate our concern and to call for substantive and meaningful dialogue with the democratic movement.
	We and our EU colleagues agreed to strengthen and update the EU Common Position on Burma on 14 April 2003. The Common Position contains a range of measures designed to bring pressure to bear on the military regime to move towards national reconciliation, respect for human rights and democracy in Burma.

Burma

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he will make to the Burmese Government on the crackdown on democracy in Burma and the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mike O'Brien: We welcome that the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail, was able to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi on his recent visit to Burma and that she was unharmed. However, we remain deeply concerned about the latest developments in Burma and have firmly called on the Burmese to release immediately Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK) and National League for Democracy (NLD) colleagues, and to reopen NLD offices and universities in Burma. Our embassy in Rangoon has repeatedly called on the Burmese authorities and criticised them over their actions. On 2 June 2003, my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Bill Rammell) called in the Burmese Ambassador to express the British Government's deep concern over recent events in Burma. On 6 June 2003, I spoke to the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister to reiterate our concern and to call for substantive and meaningful dialogue with the democratic movement.
	We are now in discussion with our EU and other international partners about what further steps we will take against the Burmese Government if they do not provide immediate satisfactory responses.

Burma

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the development of democratic representative government in Burma.

Mike O'Brien: With EU colleagues, we decided to strengthen and update the EU Common Position on Burma in April 2003. The Common Position contains a range of measures designed to bring pressure to bear on the military regime to move towards national reconciliation, respect for human rights and democracy in Burma. We are in regular contact with EU partners and are in discussion on what further steps we will take if the regime does not provide immediate satisfactory responses.

Burma

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to prevent trade in contravention of UN sanctions between the Burmese military regime and other countries.

Mike O'Brien: At the present time there are no UN sanctions on trade with Burma. There is, however, an EU Common Position on Burma. EU companies wishing to trade with Burma have their export licence applications rigorously assessed against the consolidated EU export and national arms licensing criteria.

Chechnya

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on human rights abuses by Russian forces in Chechnya.

Denis MacShane: HMG recognises the genuine and serious security challenges in Chechnya, demonstrated by the recent wave of suicide bombings in the republic, but has consistently stressed that counter terrorist operations must respect human rights and the rule of law. We continue to regard allegations of human rights violations with serious concern, and have called for their thorough, transparent and effective investigation, and for those responsible to be prosecuted and punished.

Chechnya

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Government of Russia (a) regarding the rights of Chechens to take refuge in Ingushetia and (b) to ensure that war-affected civilians will not be forcibly repatriated.

Denis MacShane: Both bilaterally and through the EU, we have repeatedly reminded the Russian Government of their obligations under the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, stressing that all movement by internally displaced persons (IDPs) must be strictly voluntary. We have also stated that the dismantling of shelters, or the suspension of food, water and energy supplies, in our view constituted a forced return. The policy of enforcing the return of IDPs from Ingushetia to Chechnya appears to have been reconsidered as a result of the representations made.

Chechnya

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Russia regarding the delivery of efficient and sustainable humanitarian assistance to displaced Chechens in Ingushetia.

Denis MacShane: The matter was discussed at official level during the last round of bilateral human rights talks, in which we pressed the Russian Government to provide full co-operation to humanitarian NGOs operating in the region. We have also made the same point through the EU.

Cyprus

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the travel requirements will be for the UK citizens living in the Turkish occupied area of Cyprus who wish to enter British sovereign areas; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: In line with the commitments made to the Republic of Cyprus in the 1960 Treaty of Establishment, British citizens, like others resident in Cyprus, have freedom of access and communication to and through the SBAs, provided they entered the island legally.
	Any persons, including British citizens, who enter the island of Cyprus through a port of entry that is not internationally recognised, are considered illegal immigrants by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. It has been HMG policy since 1974 to act in accordance with the Republic of Cyprus' immigration policy.

Cyprus

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the visa requirements are for those citizens of the Turkish occupied area of Cyprus who do not have a Cypriot passport after the accession of Cyprus to the EU.

Denis MacShane: The Government deeply regret the failure to achieve a settlement of the Cyprus problem before Cyprus' signature of its EU Accession Treaty. In the continuing absence of a comprehensive settlement, this is one of the issues that will have to be resolved before Cyprus' accession, within the framework established by the Cyprus protocol to the Accession Treaty.

G8 Global Partnership

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how much of the pledged £750 million for the G8 Global Partnership against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction has been paid out;
	(2)  what activities have been conducted by the G8 Global Partnership against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in July 2002 that the UK would commit up to $750 million over 10 years to the G8 Global Partnership. We began developing programmes in the late 1990s to help deal with the former Soviet Union's WMD legacy. In 2002–03, we spent approximately £15 million on this programme, and in 2003–04, we anticipate spending around £33 million.
	We continue to work to translate this G8 pledge into projects to prevent the proliferation of WMD. Following complex preparatory work, and recent progress on multilateral and bilateral UK-Russia legal agreements, we can now begin implementing projects to deal with spent nuclear fuel and dismantle nuclear submarines, a commitment of around £10 million this year. Other activities include: a contribution of £70 million to a G8 programme to help Russia dispose of weapons-grade plutonium; development of a Closed Nuclear Cities Partnership to tackle problems related to WMD expertise; and projects at the main Russian chemical weapons destruction facility at Shchuch'ye.
	I am pleased to announce we are willing in principle to significantly increase our assistance to Russia to help destroy its declared stockpile of chemical weapons. Total funding of up to $100 million could be made available, from the $750 million Global Partnership commitment.
	Our G8 partners are developing or already implementing complementary project portfolios. Norway, Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland have recently decided to join the Partnership.

Gibraltar

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Spain's decision to refer to the European Court the provision in the European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003 to extend the European Parliament elections franchise to Gibraltar; and how the United Kingdom intends to respond.

Denis MacShane: holding answer 12 June 2003
	If Spain were to bring an action in the European Court of Justice over the enfranchisement of the Gibraltar electorate for the purposes of European parliamentary elections, we would defend any such action robustly.

Official Spelling

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that official (a) correspondence, (b) reports and (c) documentation from his office use the English spelling of words where this differs from the US version.

Jack Straw: Yes, except when referring to a US institution.

Travel Advice

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will next review the advice given to British citizens about travel to Kenya and other countries in east Africa and the horn of Africa; what assessment he has made of the economic impact of reduced travel to the countries concerned; and what assistance the Government are giving to those countries to address the security issues which gave rise to his travel advice.

Bill Rammell: Our travel advice is kept under regular review. We are well aware of the impact on Kenya of our present advice, not least given the importance of tourism, particularly from UK visitors. But our travel advice must reflect our best assessment of the potential risks to British travellers. We are providing support and technical assistance to the Kenyan authorities to help improve their security arrangements and meet the terrorism threat, as part of a long-term strategy for co-operation on counter-terrorism.

Weapons Disposal (Russia)

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to assist in the safe disposal of Russia's stockpiles of (a) nuclear, (b) chemical and (c) biological weapons.

Mike O'Brien: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Mr. Campbell) today (UIN 117914 and 117915).

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Website

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the actions he (a) has taken and (b) is taking to ensure that the websites of the Cabinet Office, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are accessible to partially sighted and blind people; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office website (www.cabinet-office.gov.uk) makes every effort to be accessible for partially sighted and blind people.
	It adheres to the relevant sections of the Office of the e-Envoy's Guidelines for UK Government websites. It has passed the Bobby accessibility tool and meets key guidelines set out in the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).
	Specific measures that have been taken are:
	Text size can be increased by users according to their needs
	Colour or shading is not used to convey key information
	Frames are not used
	Plug-ins are not used
	Images have alternative text to aid screen readers
	Links and navigation are meaningful through speech browsers
	We will address other accessibility issues, such as ensuring that all PDF documents are offered in alternative formats, during on-going improvements to our web presence.
	There are a number of other websites managed by the Cabinet Office; details of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Civil Service

Tony Wright: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what evidence he has collated on the type of (a) school and (b) university attended by those recruited to the senior civil service in the last two years.

Douglas Alexander: For new recruits to the senior civil service (including internal promotees as well as those appointed from outside) over the past two years, those individuals against whom universities are recorded (with numbers of 10 or more) are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2000–01  
			 Oxford 26 
			 London 11 
			 Cambridge 10 
			 Others 102 
			   
			 2001–02  
			 Oxford 18 
			 London 15 
			 Cambridge 12 
			 Glasgow 12 
			 Others 108 
		
	
	Data on university attended is only available for 53 per cent. of new entrants, as provision of this information is non-mandatory.
	No data is collected on the type of school attended.

Correspondence

John Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff have been employed in the Ministerial Correspondence Unit of the Department in each of the last two years.

Douglas Alexander: 3.1 permanent full-time equivalent members of staff were in post in the Ministerial Correspondence Unit within the Cabinet Office at 1 April 2002. A further three temporary agency staff were also employed on a full-time basis. 4.5 permanent full-time equivalent members of staff were in post in the Ministerial Correspondence Unit within the Cabinet Office at 1 April 2003.

Official Records

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many records were released, broken down by Department, under the Open Government Initiative from 10 January 2002 to 31 December 2002.

Douglas Alexander: A breakdown by Department of the records released under the Open Government Initiative (OGI) from 10 January 2002 to 31 December 2002 is not available centrally. The requirement for periodic returns under the OGI, the last of which reflected the position as at 31 December 2001, has diminished over the years as departments have dealt with the major task of re-reviewing closed records. There are currently no plans to conduct a further updating exercise.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Affordable Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many affordable housing units in (a) rural districts and (b) extreme rural districts in England were (i) sold under right to buy and (ii) newly built in 2002; and what the net change was.

Tony McNulty: In local authorities that are classified as rural and mixed rural, 7,508 local authority dwellings were sold under right to buy during 2001–02. New build of registered social landlord and local authority housing, in the same local authorities and during the same period, was estimated as £2,713. The resulting net change is minus £4,795, but this excludes any acquisitions of existing dwellings by registered social landlords.

Affordable Housing

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the provision of affordable housing in the South West.

Tony McNulty: In 2003–04 funding available to the South West region from the Housing Corporation's approved development programme has increased by over 30 per cent. to £81 million. This increase forms part of the overall £500 million increase in Approved Development Programme (ADP) funding to registered social landlords (RSLs) for 2003–04.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has established Regional Housing Boards in every region to advise on how housing investment should be distributed to target regional and local priorities from 2004–05. The Regional Housing Strategies will be based on the assessment of a range of evidence including need and will be consistent with economic and planning policy at the regional level.
	Housing strategies being produced by the regional housing boards should be based on a robust and transparent assessment of the different housing needs of all parts of the region so that the housing needs in rural as well as urban areas are adequately reflected.

Affordable Housing

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the Regional Planning Guidance totals for affordable housing in the South West are; what funding is available from the Housing Corporation for 2003–04; and how many units that funding will provide.

Tony McNulty: Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) for the South West (RPG10) published in September 2001 does not give precise targets for affordable housing. RPG10 advises that such targets should be identified in local authorities' development plans based on their local needs assessments. For monitoring purposes the RPG does, however, indicate that it expects the cumulative total of those local targets to be in the region of 6,000 to 10,000 dwellings of affordable housing a year.
	The Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme (ADP) is providing £81 million to the South West in 2003–04. The estimated ADP approvals in the region for the same year are at least 1,959 dwellings. Other public investment in social housing is provided through a number of channels including central Government funding for local authorities (the Housing Investment Programme), from local authorities' own resources, and neighbourhood renewal programmes.

Affordable Housing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the amount of public sector land for redevelopment sold at below market values since 1997 as a result of the inclusion of obligations to provide affordable housing on it.

Tony McNulty: The market value of land for redevelopment will, among a number of factors, be affected by the applicable planning policy framework. Where planning policies seek the provision of affordable housing, this will be reflected in the market value. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not assessed the amount of public sector land for redevelopment sold at below market values since 1997 as a result of the inclusion of obligations to provide affordable housing on it, nor is the information requested held centrally, which would allow such an assessment to be made, and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Compulsory Purchase

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to introduce changes in legislation further to amend compulsory purchase procedures in relation to the technical mechanisms compulsory purchase.

Tony McNulty: As I indicated during the debate on 10 June 2003 concerning the proposal to recommit the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill to Standing Committee [columns 566 and 574], we propose to introduce seven additional proposals to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill which will help to make the compulsory purchase process simpler, quicker and fairer. These are:
	extending to all acquiring authorities, including the RDAs and the Urban Regeneration Agency (English Partnerships), the power to require information to be given about persons occupying, or having an interest in, land which they propose to acquire;
	redefining those who, by virtue of occupying or having an interest in land, are entitled to be regarded as statutory objectors with a right to have their objections heard at a public inquiry;
	providing a regulation-making power to facilitate the consideration of objections by means of written representations;
	providing for the confirmation of unopposed CPOs by the relevant acquiring authority;
	providing for the confirmation in stages, where appropriate, of CPOs made by all types of acquiring authorities;
	defining the dates to be used for valuation purposes; and
	providing for advance payments of compensation to be made direct to mortgagees where this is agreed by all relevant parties and irrespective of the amount outstanding on the mortgage.

Disabled People (Housing)

Tim Boswell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on recent developments in resuming housing adaptations for disabled people.

Tony McNulty: Local housing authorities have a statutory duty to offer means tested Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) to eligible applicants who require adaptations to help them live independently in their own homes. The grant continues to be available to homeowners and tenants in both the private and social rented sector.
	The Government will also continue to meet 60 per cent. of local authority expenditure incurred on DFGs. The budget for this grant for English authorities in 2003–04 is £99 million compared with £88 million in 2002–03 and £56 million in 1997–98.
	Daventry Council's share of this national budget in 2003–04 is £97,000, compared with only £28,000 in 1997–98.

Empty Homes

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many affordable empty homes there were in (a) rural areas and (b) England, broken down by region in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for St. Ives on 5 February 2003, Official Report, column 347W.

Empty Homes

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the compliance of the compulsory leasing of empty properties recently announced in the Communities Plan with the Human Rights Act 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The proposal to enable local authorities to take temporary management control of some empty homes set out in the consultation paper "Empty Homes: Temporary Management, Lasting Solutions", published on 22 May, raise matters that engage aspects of the European Convention on Human Rights as it has effect by virtue of the Human Rights Act 1998. These matters are included in the issues on which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is seeking views during the consultation period ending on 22 August.
	If, as a result of the consultation, the Government decided to introduce legislative provisions, they would need to be satisfied that such provisions were compatible with Human Rights legislation.

Energy Efficiency

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he is taking to allow local authorities to recommend in their Unitary Development Plans that all new industrial, warehousing, office and live/work units, outside conservation areas and above a threshold of 1,000 square metres, will be expected to incorporate renewable energy production equipment to provide at least 10 per cent. of predicted energy requirements; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: As stated in the Energy White Paper, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently examining, together with other government departments, how to bring consideration of the use of renewables and energy efficiency in developments more within the scope of the planning system, in the context of the review of Planning Policy Guidance note 22 and the government's wider planning reforms, and in a way that does not impose undue burdens on developers.

House Prices

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the ratio of house price to average earnings, broken down by region.

Tony McNulty: The latest estimates, for 2002, of the ratio of average house prices to average earnings are tabled as follows:
	
		
			 Region Ratio of average house price to average earnings, 2002 
		
		
			 North East 3.72 
			 North West 3.96 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 4.05 
			 East Midlands 4.60 
			 West Midlands 4.98 
			 East 5.80 
			 London 7.53 
			 South East 6.61 
			 South West 6.45 
			 England 5.71 
		
	
	Sources:
	1. Average earnings data are from the Office for National Statistics and are based on place of residence (as opposed to place of work). (New Earnings Survey, April 2002)
	2. Average house prices are from the Land Registry (calendar year 2002)

Housing Conditions

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will publish the results of the 2001 English House Condition Survey.

Tony McNulty: The results of the 2001 English House Condition Survey will be published in July 2003.

Housing Conditions

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the secondary legislation and guidance envisaged by the draft Housing Bill; which have been published; and when he will publish the remainder.

Tony McNulty: The draft Housing Bill was published for consultation at the end of March 2003. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Select Committee will carry out pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill during June and July 2003. We cannot at this stage specify when secondary legislation and guidance will be published, as the Bill may change as a result of responses to the consultation and Select Committee recommendations. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will, however, set out a statement of policy intent for each of the main pieces of secondary legislation and guidance when Parliament carries out detailed scrutiny of the Bill.

Housing Corporation

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the Housing Corporation's budget was in each of the last 10 years; and what amount was allocated to its (a) revenue and (b) capital programmes.

Tony McNulty: The expenditure by the Housing Corporation on capital and revenue programmes for each of the last 10 years is tabled as follows. The figures do not include expenditure on the Housing Corporation's administration.
	
		£
		
			  Capital Revenue Total 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1992–93 2,506.7 136.0 2,642.7 
			 1993–94 2,151.7 146.1 2,297.8 
			 1994–95 1,838.5 199.9 2,038.4 
			 1995–96 1,523.8 198.8 1,722.6 
			 1996–97 1,390.9 217.3 1,608.2 
			 1997–98 1,091.2 207.6 1,298.8 
			 1998–99 1,067.7 149.3 1,217.0 
			 1999–2000 1,146.0 154.0 1,300.0 
			 2000–01 1,231.2 143.0 1,374.2 
			 2001–02 1,234.3 153.1 1,387.4 
			 2002–03 1,530.2 182.7 1,712.9 
		
	
	Source:
	Housing Corporation Annual Accounts (Income and Expenditure Account)
	The Housing Corporation accounts for 2002–03 are due to be published shortly. A copy will made available in the Library of the House.

Housing (Castle Point)

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what advice he has given to Castle Point borough council on the future management structure of its housing estate.

Tony McNulty: As stated in the Sustainable Communities Plan, local authorities should separate their landlord function from their strategic housing responsibilities. Best Value reports show that landlords' concerns often dominate local authorities thinking on housing when they should be considering strategies for whole local housing markets. Separation helps ensure that proper attention is given to both the strategic and landlord functions.

Housing (Castle Point)

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assistance his Department is giving to Castle Point borough council to reduce its housing waiting lists.

Tony McNulty: Castle Point covers an area of 44.75 square km and the borough council holds 4.7 per cent. of the total housing stock, some 35,700 properties.
	The borough lies within the Thames Gateway growth area, and as such, will benefit from the £446 million that the "Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future" (SCP) documents, published in February of this year, have made available for this area over the next three years. This growth area has the potential to provide a significant portion of the 200,000 additional homes, for the south-east, mentioned in the SCP.
	Further provision of social housing will be in collaboration with a number of RSLs in the area, providing housing for rent and affordable housing for ownership through shared ownership and Homebuy schemes.
	For the period 2003–04, the Housing Corporation has allocated some £1.237 billion for 20,645 new homes nationally. The east of England will receive £116.06 million, providing 3,707 homes with the challenge fund providing an additional £23.94 million and 429 homes. Castle Point itself will receive in the region of £70,000.
	The forthcoming Regional Housing Strategy, produced by the Regional Housing Forum and accepted by the Regional Housing Board, will prove instrumental in the allocation of funding to the areas of greatest housing need. This level of funding in the region coupled with the strategic priorities of the council of providing housing and housing services to the public will enable Castle Point to increase provision of affordable housing in the borough and offer vital housing services to the public, which in turn, will have effect on the numbers of households on the waiting list for accommodation.
	This Government are committed to the provision of affordable housing, and through the various mechanisms detailed in the SCP, will continue to invest in our communities.

Housing (Castle Point)

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people were on the Castle Point borough council housing waiting list in each category in each of the last five years for which figures exist and on 1 April 2003.

Tony McNulty: The number of people on the Castle Point borough council housing waiting list in the last five years for which figures exist are tabled as follows.
	
		
			 Criteria 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Households with or expecting children 492 426 403 244 Not recorded Not recorded 
			 Households requiring specialised dwellings (e.g. elderly or disabled) 37 44 45 57 Not recorded Not recorded 
			 Other households 143 192 254 180 Not recorded Not recorded 
			 Total households 672 662 702 481 604 937 
			 Of which   
			 1 Households requiring up to two bedrooms Not recorded Not recorded Not recorded 369 530 716 
			 2. Households requiring three bedrooms Not recorded — — 66 74 218 
			 3. Households requiring more than three bedrooms — Not recorded Not recorded Not recorded Not recorded 3

Local Plans

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures are in place to ensure that local plans continue to be reviewed while reforms to the planning system are being implemented.

Tony McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister fully expect local authorities to continue to prepare and review local plans to ensure their policies and proposals are up to date. Transitional advice to local authorities in December 2002 has been published. Further advice to ensure that work undertaken now will be relevant under the new arrangements will be published shortly.

Mobile Telephones

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 502W, on mobile telephones, which ministers in his Department have a mobile telephone.

Christopher Leslie: The three mobile phones used by Ministers in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister belong to my Rt. Hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister, the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr. Raynsford) and the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche).

North Korea

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with the US Defence Secretary about North Korean nuclear weapons.

Christopher Leslie: None.

Planning Law

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made with regard to (a) proposals to improve existing regulations governing section 106 agreements and planning gain and (b) the publication of new guidance to replace Circular 1/97, Planning Obligations.

Tony McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to issue a consultation document on Planning Obligations in the near future. Following the consultation period, it is our intention to publish a policy document on planning obligations that will replace Circular 1/97.

Redevelopment (Aylesbury)

David Lidington: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he plans to announce his decision on the application for the redevelopment of Cambridge Close and Cambridge Street, Aylesbury.

Tony McNulty: My right. hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister expects to receive the Inspector's Report of the inquiry very shortly. The decision on the application will be taken as quickly as possible, but at this stage, it is not possible to say when it will be issued.

Rural Housing

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many households were identified as being in priority need for housing in each year since 1996, in (a) all English local authorities and (b) English authorities defined as rural.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the to the answer given on 27 January 2003, Official Report, column 624W. Estimates of households accepted by local authorities as homeless and in priority need during 2002–03 will be available later this month.

Social Landlords

Tom Cox: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will bring forward legislative proposals in this Session of Parliament to amend the permissible powers of registered social landlords to allow them to develop supported housing schemes for use in intermediate care.

Tony McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to consult on a proposal to allow registered social landlords (RSLs) to develop supported housing schemes for use in Intermediate Care, which may lead to an amendment of the permissible purposes of RSLs.

Social Landlords

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many registered social landlords there are in England.

Tony McNulty: According to the Housing Corporation there were 2,038 registered social landlords with a registered address in England as on 9 June 2003.

Starter Home Initiative

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homes will be provided in the South West under the Starter Homes Initiative; and what estimate he has made of how many such homes are needed.

Tony McNulty: The Starter Home Initiative aims to assist up to some 400 key workers into home ownership in the South West by March 2004. Funding for new affordable homes in the South West after this date will be informed by advice from the regional housing boards.